The work is expected to be disruptive, especially for residents of Karapiro Village, with no right turn out of Hydro Rd while the work is done. Image / Waka Kotahi
Work begins on Monday to build the first of five turnarounds on SH1 between Cambridge and Piarere before 3km of median barriers are installed from the end of the Waikato Expressway to Hydro Rd.
The work is expected to be disruptive, especially for residents of Karāpiro Village, with no right turn out of Hydro Rd while the work is done.
The right turn out of Hydro Rd onto SH1 towards Piarere will be reinstated after the turnaround is built, until the next turnaround is built north of Hickey Rd, later in the year. At that point, the right turn out of Hydro Rd onto SH1 will be closed.
The work is the next phase of Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency’s State Highway 1 Cambridge to Piarere safety improvements programme.
The turnaround bay at the intersection of SH1/Hydro Rd, east of Cambridge. will be the first of five turnarounds that will be constructed on SH1 between Cambridge and Piarere over the coming year, along with additional median barriers.
Waka Kotahi infrastructure delivery manager for Waikato Bay of Plenty, Jo Wilton, says: “Once the turnaround is completed, over 3km of median barriers from the end of the Waikato Expressway will be installed.”
Turnarounds are a key feature of the safety improvements underway on this stretch of highway.
“While you may need to drive a bit further to get to a turnaround, they offer a much safer right turning option for getting off and onto the highway and will provide better safety for people living and using the route,” says Wilton.
“We are working with local contractors J. Swap and doing everything possible to minimise the disruption for locals and visitors. This work has been timed to coincide with Ariki St over the Karāpiro Dam being open until the end of July, offering Karāpiro Village residents and visitors an alternative route.
“This work will be disruptive, especially for residents in Karāpiro Village. While they can still turn left in and out of Hydro Rd, they won’t be able to turn right. Alternative routes from Cambridge will be signposted and we are asking people to allow extra time for their journeys.
“We have a small window to complete the construction of this turnaround, otherwise it may not have been possible until next year. Weather working in our favour, we expect most of the work at the SH1 Hydro Rd intersection to be completed by the time the dam access is closed,” says Wilton.
With the construction crew on site from June 19, the recommended alternative routes are:
Cambridge to Karāpiro Village
Light vehicles coming from Cambridge to Karāpiro Village take Maungatautari Rd and Ariki St (add 6-10 minutes to your journey).
Karāpiro Village to Piarere
All vehicles (including heavy ones) heading south to Piarere from Hydro Rd will need to turn left out of Hydro Rd towards Cambridge, turn around at Shakespeare St roundabout then continue south to Piarere (add 10-15 minutes to your journey).
There will be several nights of night works under stop/go traffic management while the site is established, and again late next month. The effect on SH1 traffic is expected to be minimal, although temporary speed limits will be in place near the work site.
Wilton says there are some challenges with doing pavement work at this time of year and the team is moving to get it done as soon as possible.
“At this stage, we are expecting the turnaround to take six to eight weeks but that is subject to weather. We apologise for the inconvenience this may cause to residents and people travelling between Cambridge and Piarere and thank everyone for their patience while we work to make SH1 safer.”
The long-term Cambridge to Piarere expressway project is at the stage of securing route protection. This involves processes under the Resource Management Act to allow Waka Kotahi to require designations and to obtain regional resource consents to ensure it is ready to proceed if and when funding is made available.
Once route protection is secured, funding must be confirmed then the next stages include detailed design, tendering and construction.
Waka Kotahi announced last month that earthworks will “hopefully” start in October for a two-lane roundabout to replace the high-risk T-intersection where State Highways 1 and 29 meet at Piarere south of Cambridge. But there are still further steps to be taken before the construction of one of the most talked-about infrastructure projects in Waikato can begin.
Waka Kotahi says it is preparing to go to tender on the roundabout and hopes to have the contract awarded by August.
To find out more go to nzta.govt.nz/c2p