SH1 Waikato Expressway safety improvements completed at Ōhinewai

Northbound traffic will be detoured from Taupiri, across the Tainui Bridge, along Te Ōhākī Road, over the Glen Murray Bridge then via local roads to the Rangiriri interchange. Photo / Waka Kotah

From tonight, Monday, May 9, the northbound lane of SH1 between Ōhinewai and Rangiriri will be closed between 7pm and 7am, for up to five nights, to allow for the removal of 8.5km of temporary steel barriers on the northbound lane.

The barriers are being removed now that safety improvements to State Highway 1 Waikato Expressway between Ōhinewai and Rangiriri have been completed.

Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency regional manager infrastructure delivery Jo Wilton says to enable the temporary steel barriers to be removed the northbound lane of SH1 needs to be closed. The closure will not affect southbound traffic.

While SH1 is closed, all northbound traffic will be detoured from the Taupiri interchange towards Taupiri and then Huntly via Great South Rd, across the Tainui Bridge, along Te Ōhākī Rd, over the Glen Murray Bridge then via local roads to the Rangiriri interchange.

A detour route via Waikato District Council roads is in place for general access vehicles. It can be used by overweight vehicles provided they hold a permit for the route from Waikato District Council.

Vehicles without permits to use the nominated detour route (such as overweight, 50MAX, HPMV and Over Dimension), using SH27/2 provided they hold the relevant permits.
All other heavy vehicles are not permitted to use the detour or alternative route. They are to avoid the detour and plan their journeys for outside the closure times.

Motorists are asked to take extra care when travelling along the detour by following any temporary speed limits, signs and instructions from the traffic management team.

In the event of bad weather or other unforeseen circumstances, work may be postponed. Visit the Waka Kotahi journeys.nzta.govt.nz website for up-to-date information on the road closure, detours, traffic, road works and delays.

"Safety improvements to the southbound lane were completed late last year and now we've finished the northbound lane, we can remove the temporary barriers," Wilton says.
The improvements included moving street lights and installing roadside barriers, so it's safer and more consistent with the rest of the expressway. The temporary steel barriers provided a safe work area, protecting construction workers from live traffic while they upgraded the state highway.

"Removing the barriers is a complicated process - first the state highway must be closed, and traffic detoured for up to five nights in a row. The closure is needed as a combination of trucks, forklifts, and excavators are used to remove the barriers, while crew unpin them from the road. We need to keep our people safe and can't have them standing beside live traffic, with no protection, so the road needs to be closed," Wilton says.