State Highway 1 roadworks in Ruapehu delayed by weather

Work on the Desert Road will continue next Tuesday as the bad weather settles in. Photo / Bevan Conley

Road resurfacing work on State Highway 1/Desert Rd has been postponed because bad weather is forecast over the next week.

Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency said work will resume on Tuesday, December 1 between the intersection of SH1 and SH46 at Rangipo, and the intersection of SH1 and SH49 at Waiouru.

The road will be closed from 7pm until 5am for five nights. The work is due to be completed and the road reopened from 5am on Sunday, December 6.

Outside work hours the road will operate as normal. Emergency services will have full access through the site during the works. Detours will be in place and drivers are asked to allow for extra time on journeys.

From Turangi, the detour will be via SH41 or SH46, on to SH47, SH4 at National Park and then SH49 to Waiouru. The northbound detour will be in reverse.

The detour will add 30-35 minutes to a journey from Turangi and Waiouru to the usual 45-minute trip via SH1 Turangi to Waiouru. The total travel time will be about 1 hour 15 minutes.

Motorists are encouraged to finish their journey well before the 7pm closure as contractors will be setting up traffic management from 6pm and this may cause delays.

From 7pm on December 6, resurfacing will take place south of SH1/49 intersection at Waiouru and on the Desert Rd between Waiouru and Rangipo.

The work is expected to take four nights between 7pm and 5am, with stop/go traffic management and a temporary speed limit of 30km/h in place.

On Wednesday and Thursday, December 9 and 10, the road between Taupō and Tūrangi will be closed between 7pm and 5am. On Friday, December 11, the road will be open under stop/go traffic management with a 30km/h temporary speed limit. This will allow contractors to finish resurfacing at Te Poporo/Bulli Pt and at Te Toki Pt.