North Taranaki road upgrade: Purangi Saddle works to enhance safety for traffic

New Plymouth District Council has improved the corners on Purangi Saddle for the last two roadworks seasons, leading up to this $1.5 million rebuild of the road.

The road over the Purangi Saddle is getting rebuilt this summer.

Starting on October 29, the road, inland from Inglewood, will be dug out and rebuilt as part of the Purangi Saddle Rd project, run by New Plymouth District Council (NPDC) and Downer through the New Plymouth Infrastructure Partnership.

The project will cost $1.5 million, with New Zealand Transport Agency Waka Kotahi funding 51% and NPDC funding the rest. It is part of the $26.3m NPDC will spend on road maintenance, operations and renewals in 2024/25.

NPDC infrastructure projects manager Rui Leitao said the work is part of a long-term fix for Tarata Rd between the saddle and Otaraua Rd, which is in poor condition because of heavy vehicles.

“We’ve been talking with the Tarata community for a while about the best way to fix and maintain the road, including whether to revert this section of Tarata Rd to loose metal. We’re now at the point where we can begin on the Purangi Saddle section.”

Leitao said the work will make the road safer.

“In the last two seasons, we’ve been widening some corners on the saddle by cutting into the cliff faces. Once this rebuilding work is finished, drivers will be able to cross the saddle on a road that’s wider, safer and much more resilient than it is now.”

He said this area of the hill country has soft soils, and the road was originally built to carry light traffic. However, the developing forestry sector has seen an increasing number of logging trucks on the Tarata Road, causing the road to break up

Stage one of the roadworks will run from October 29 to December 19 and stage two will start on January 15 and continue through to late March. To complete the work, the road will be closed from 9am to 6pm each day during the two stages.

The road will be open from noon to 12.30pm and then 4pm to 4.30pm for through-traffic.

The road will also be open overnight between 6pm and 9am and on Sundays.

Motorists are advised to take care when driving over the saddle.