Waikato’s SH1 road works programme will mean diversions for more than a year

State Highway 1 between Piarere and Waiouru is the third worst stretch of highway in the country when it comes to quality.

NZTA / Waka Kotahi announced it would be embarking on “one of the largest and most ambitious maintenance and rehabilitation projects to be undertaken in New Zealand” to fix the road, which would mean disruptions for motorists for up to 16 months.

The agency would be renewing over about 23% of SH1 between Piarere and the Waiouru.

“This section of SH1 is ranked third worst in terms of quality on the network. We’re prioritising improving that by bringing forward the next four years of maintenance and delivering it by the end of 2025,” said Roger Brady, NZTA regional manager of maintenance and operations.

Up to 2,400 heavy vehicles and 9,500 light vehicles use the section of SH1 each day.

Brady said with an increasing number of potholes, the stretch of road had already had more maintenance just to maintain its condition.

State Highway 1 between Piarere and Waiouru will be repaired in sections with full road closures to speed up work. Graphic / NZTA

By blocking the highway in both directions and requiring motorists to take alternative routes, Brady said they would be able to do the work in half the time.

“This accelerated approach will reduce temporary traffic management and labour costs by delivering the work in less than half the time originally planned, and result in fewer potholes on the network over the next 25 years. Worker safety will also be improved by working in full closures, rather than adjacent to live traffic lanes.

“NZTA will be working with road users, freight companies and local councils over the next month in preparation for the first section of works beginning in early September.

“Our state highways are critical routes for freight and tourism, and serve as important lifelines for communities around New Zealand. NZTA is strongly focused on maintenance and renewals, reducing potholes and planning this work to minimise the disruption to road users where possible,” Brady said.

Renewal work has been designed to ensure that water does not penetrate road layers, which involves using a combination of different types of asphalt and upgrading drainage to optimise road pavement life.

The first part of the project will close SH1, from SH5 near Tīrau to the SH1/SH28 intersection near Putāruru, from Monday, September 9 for four weeks.

NZTA would release more information, including detour routes, ahead of time.