All the NZ road closures that might impact your summer holiday road trip

Roadworks and closures can impact your journey. Photo / John van de Ven

By RNZ

It is not unusual for roadworks to ramp up over the summer period, as workers make the most of warm and dry weather.

With lots going on, it is important to plan your travel route carefully and where possible, be aware of any detours.

NZTA undertakes summer maintenance every year and are going to be renewing over 1800 kilometres of roads this summer.

Here’s a look at some of the major roadworks that might impact your travels this summer:

Auckland

The Auckland Harbour Bridge will have traffic restrictions and some on-ramps closed for resurfacing and maintenance under the bridge from Boxing Day (December 26) to January 6.

Lane reductions during the day will be in place on Spaghetti Junction over the same period, while a bridge joint is replaced.

Motorists are asking to use the Waterview Tunnel or the Western Ring Route on SH16 to avoid congestion.

A full closure will be in place on State Highway 1 Southbound from 9pm to 7am between Victoria Park and Grafton Rd.

Desert Rd Closure

State Highway 1 from Tūrangi to Waiouru will be closed for rebuilding and repairs for two months from January 13, 2025.

This piece of work is kicking off one week later than originally planned, to reduce the impact on summer holiday journeys, an NZTA spokesperson said.

“This section of SH1 is in one of the worst conditions in the Waikato region, it’s also one of the most challenging to fix,” regional manager of maintenance and operations for Waikato and Bay of Plenty Roger Brady said.

“The alpine environment and potential for a cold snap means we have to do this closure in the peak summer months because the ground temperature needs to be at 13 degrees minimum to carry out pavement works.”

The planned detour is expected to add about half an hour to journey times.

Top of the South Island

Lots going on here, with major repairs on State Highway 60 at Takaka Hill, resilience work under way on State Highway 63 and State Highway 6 at Rai Saddle in Marlborough.

NZTA is warning drivers to allow an extra hour for travel between Christchurch and Picton, and an extra 30 minutes between Nelson and Blenheim due to roadworks.

Otago

Roads in Coastal Otago and Dunedin have been in need of repairs and rebuilds after flooding.

Ben Parker, maintenance contract manager, said resurfacing started in September and will run through to March/April.

“If people can build in an extra 20 minutes to their journeys, it will help ease the pressure on everyone and reduce the temptation to make up time if there is a short delay on key routes,” he said.

The holiday period will be as “free of work” as possible, NZTA said, with resurfacing continuing from mid-January.

Northland

The Kamo Bypass on State Highway 1 will be undergoing a road rebuild and resurfacing for three weeks in January. NZTA says there will be night closures and one through-lane under stop-go during the works. A detour will be set up via the old state highway, Kamo Rd.

Bay of Plenty

The focus of Bay of Plenty’s maintenance this summer will be on State Highway 29, near Hanga Rd, the Kaimai Cafe and Kaimai School - though work will be carried out at night to minimise impacts to traffic.

NZTA is aiming to have as much work completed as possible before Christmas.

Manawatū-Whanganui

Resealing works will be taking place throughout the region, and NZTA said road users can expect to encounter a number of work sites and newly sealed roads on their summer journeys.

Regional manager of maintenance and operations Rua Pani says the focus this season is on more road rebuilding.

“We’re working to improve the overall network condition through more intensive treatments, increasing pavement quality.”

Road rebuilds have been under way since October on multiple sites on State Highway 1 and State Highway 2 near Dannevirke, with more work planned on State Highway 54 and State Highway 56 near Ōpiki.

The NZTA website says there will be “considerable disruption” at times.

Taranaki

Road rebuilds began in Taranaki in September, a month earlier than normal.

In early January, two areas of roadworks are planned: on State Highway 45 in New Plymouth, night works will cause delays of 5-10 minutes between January 6-17.

And, State Highway 3 at Tangapōrutu will be rebuilt between January 7 and March 7, with crews working six days a week. Traffic lights will be in place with delays of up to 10 minutes.

Wellington

Wellington is spared from tunnel closures during peak holiday time in January - but come February, the Terrace Tunnel will close for four days between February 10-13, Monday to Thursday.

The Mt Victoria Tunnel will close for one day on February 2, and the Arras tunnel on one day for February 2.

The Terrace and Mt Victoria tunnels will close briefly again in March.

Hawke’s Bay

In addition to the 24/25 summer road programme, cyclone recovery work is continuing in the Hawke’s Bay region.

Planned renewals works include renewals on State Highway 2, 5 and 50.

Meanwhile, Transport Rebuild East Coast Hawke’s Bay project spokesperson Chris Mahoney said crews are making good progress on multiple cyclone recovery sites, fixing damaged sections of road, stabilising slips, and repairing and maintaining bridges.

The recovery programme includes sites at Devil’s Elbow and White Pine Bush on SH2, repairs at Dillon’s Hill Culvert, and north of Hill Road Culvert on SH5, and bridge repairs at Chesterman’s Bridge and Aschott Bridge on SH50.

“We expect the bulk of recovery work to be completed by autumn next year,” Mahoney said.

While work on some sites will take longer, Mahoney said much of the traffic management will be completed by Easter.

Reseal, resurface, rebuild

More than 1800 lane kilometres - equivalent to 7.5% of the network - is expected to be renewed as part of the 2024/25 programme, according to NZTA Waka Kotahi.

This includes resealing, resurfacing and rebuilding existing road surfaces.

In addition, as part of the Pothole Prevention Fund, more than 285 lane kilometres of rehabilitation work will be carried out, Transport Minister Simeon Brown announced in October.

“Rehabilitation involves full width repairs of our existing roads, and renews the life of the roading pavement, rather than simply filling in potholes,” he explained.

“Long lasting rehabilitation work that strengthens the network and prevents potholes from forming in the first place is critical to lifting the quality of our roading network and has a much longer lasting impact than resealing the road.”