The night-time closures planned for the Ngāruawāhia section of the Waikato Expressway have been delayed again.
Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency advised the public last month its contractors require a block of night-time road closures from Sunday to Thursday each week to complete ongoing resurfacing work.
Originally, the closures were meant to be in place from last Sunday, then Waka Kotahi said they would start on Wednesday.
Now, the agency announced the closure has been delayed again due to resourcing issues and will instead run from November 19 to December 21, 7pm to 5am.
The usual detour using the old highway has been changed as there are disruptive works in Ngāruawāhia township. So all SH1 southbound vehicles will be rerouted along SH1B-Gordonton Rd.
Light traffic can turn off into Lake Rd to rejoin SH1 at the Northern Interchange. However heavy vehicles (50 tonnes and over) must use SH1B, including the local road detour around Telephone Rd, and connect to SH1 again at Cambridge or via SH26 into Hamilton.
The detours will be signposted. The Lake Rd detour will add about 10 minutes to travel times, while the freight detour will add up to 15 minutes.
The road works will bring the Ngāruawāhia section up to the same 110km/h standard as neighbouring sections of the expressway and the agency said there was a big push to progress this over the upcoming construction season.
The safety improvements include making side barriers continuous, upgrading some barriers, additional maintenance and turnaround bays for emergency services, shoulder widening and relocating some lighting.
Other ongoing road works at the section include drainage improvements, reshaping and hardening of the median area to limit moisture entering the pavement and prevent further failures, as well as resurfacing.
A final, continuous asphalt surface will complete the repair works, replacing the temporary chip seal and asphalt surfaces which have been in place during earlier temporary repairs and while moisture monitoring was conducted.
The works are expected to be finished in mid-2025 although Waka Kotahi and its contractors are continuing to look at programming and resources to have the work finish earlier.
The Ngāruawāhia section opened in late 2013.
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