Roadworks across Rangitīkei and Whanganui ramp up for summer

Resurfacing work on State Highway 3 south of Whanganui has begun. Photo / Bevan Conley

Roadworks in the Whanganui and Rangitīkei will shift into higher gear over the summer.

Waka Kotahi New Zealand Transport Agency said work was already completed at sites on State Highway 1 near Hunterville and Marton.

Crews replaced an underlying road structure below the highway just north of Hunterville and also performed maintenance work on the underlying road structure at the intersection with Wing’s Line in Marton.

A road rebuild north of Taihape has also finished recently after seven weeks of night-time works.

The stretch of State Highway 1 between Goldfinch St and Abattoir Rd just north of Taihape had approximately 1km of road surface replaced and the area’s drainage improved.

Work on the road has now been completed, with a guardrail left to install for the site to be finished.

Crews will return to this site in approximately 12 months to apply a second coat of seal to the road.

Similar resurfacing and drainage work is now under way on State Highway 3 near Dudding Lake.

Work is taking place on the southbound lane, which will be closed from 6am to 6pm, Monday to Friday and some Saturdays.

A detour for southbound traffic has been signposted and will take motorists down Makirikiri Rd, onto Pukepapa Rd and then back onto State Highway 3.

The detour will likely add five minutes to motorists’ travel times.

Northbound traffic will remain on SH3 under a temporary speed restriction.

The work began on October 24 and was expected to take seven weeks.

Work to resurface another section of SH3 near the Makirikiri Stream Bridge in Turakina is planned for early next year.

This work will see a full rebuild of a section of highway in need of replacing.

Pre-seal repairs are planned from November 20 to November 24 between 9am and 3pm, with stop/go traffic management in place.

Delays of five minutes are expected for motorists.

Waka Kotahi Manawatū-Whanganui and Taranaki system manager Liesl Dawson said this was always a busy time of year for roading crews and contractors.

It’s important road resurfacing works are carried out during warm, dry weather, that’s why people often see an increase in roadwork activity in the summer months.

“We’re aware of the disruption the work causes on the roads and while we do what we can to minimise it, we don’t take for granted people’s support – it really makes our work easier,” Dawson said.

She asked for motorists passing through the sites to treat roadwork crews with respect and drive carefully when passing through.

As well as road renewals, safety improvements will also be carried out on highway networks, such as new line marking and signage and the continuing construction of a new roundabout on SH1/3 outside RNZAF Base Ohakea.

Waka Kotahi said these improvements aim to make roads safer for all road users.