Weather: State Highway 1 reopened between Taihape and Waiōuru reopened after snowfall

Heavy snowfall on State Highway 1 in Ruapehu has brought motorists to a halt with the road closed.

State Highway 1 between Taihape and Waiōuru has been reopened.

Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency closed the stretch of highway at 7.50am Wednesday due to snowfall on the road.

The road was then reopened at 10.50am.

State Highway 49 between Ōhakune and Waiōuru was also reopened at 9.30am after being closed at 8.35am due to snow.

UPDATE 10:50AM
SH1 has RE-OPENED between Taihape and Waiouru. SH1 Desert Rd remains CLOSED between the Waiouru and Rangipo gates. SH49 has also now fully RE-OPENED.
CLOSED
• SH1 Waiouru to Rangipo (Desert Rd) - Snow
OPEN
• All other state highways remain open
^CS https://t.co/xJX6LBNnEE pic.twitter.com/J8vejQYWtp

— Waka Kotahi NZTA Central North Island (@WakaKotahiCNI) July 25, 2023

The Desert Road section of SH1 between Waiōuru and Rangipo was closed at 5.50am and remains closed.

Motorists looking to travel through the region via SH1 will have to detour through SH47 or SH46 to National Park, SH4 to the Tohunga Junction and SH49 to Waiouru before rejoining SH1.

MetService issued a road snowfall warning for Desert Rd, with snow forecasted to fall between 3am and 3pm Wednesday.

Police advised motorists to plan accordingly and follow diversions and MetService reminded those on the roads to switch their headlights on, increase following distance and be prepared for unexpected hazards.