Once the road was widened, it would be reopened to two lanes under speed restrictions for up to three months while the retaining wall and culvert were built, with a few days of stop/go expected at the end of the project.
Kawhia road works
Works planned for SH31 - Kāwhia Road would require daytime closures, with the first one happening on March 5.
Old seal needed to be dug out on a site west of the Kāwhia lookout on Tuesday. The road would be closed from 8am-5pm but would reopen for an hour as a single lane between noon and 1pm.
The job was weather-dependant, with a contingency day of March 12.
NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi said the road would be open for residents up to the work site but not for through-traffic.
Access in and out of Kāwhia during the closure would be via SH39 to Ngutunui Rd, Pekanui Road, Okupata Road to Oparau and back on to SH31. The detour is a collection of local roads, with some unsealed stretches and would take about 10 minutes longer than SH31.
The work site can be cleared to allow emergency vehicles through.
Following the dig-out on Tuesday, the resealing works would be completed under stop/go traffic management.
A bigger job is ahead in April which would require about three weeks of closures during the day. This is to fix an underslip which has developed adjoining where work was done last year.
More details including dates for those closures would be provided in the next few weeks.
Later this year, work would also be required to fix an additional underslip nearer Kawhia Harbour Road, which is currently under single-lane.
Journey planning
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