27 September 2019

The start of daylight saving this weekend signals the start of the NZ Transport Agency’s summer roadworks programme north of Auckland.

In all, the plan will be to resurface 215 lane kilometres of state highway in Northland over the 2019/20 season, with 105 lane kilometres of that before Christmas, says the Transport Agency’s Senior System Manager, Wayne Oldfield.

“Warmer spring and summer months are the best time for resurfacing as daylight hours are longer and the warm temperatures and dry air help the new seal stick to the road surface.”

“We’ll be delivering a large amount of roadworks within the region this season to improve the roads, increase safety and make people’s journeys more enjoyable.”

“We sometimes do road works overnight or on weekends to minimise disruption for customers on roads with very high traffic volumes. We’ll stop most work before busy holiday travel periods like Christmas and New Year to minimise disruption to your journey.”

The season kicks off in Warkworth on Tuesday night with resurfacing along SH1 between Woodcocks Road and Hudson Road. The work will take place at night between 6pm and 6am on Sunday to Thursday nights and take about three weeks. State highway traffic will be reduced to one lane under stop/go control at times and there will be three nights of detours while the Hill St intersection is resealed.

Other main work sites before Christmas include

SH 12 Waipoua Forest 11km of resealing through the 18km forest planned in mid to late November. Road surface repairs in October

. Multiple sites of resealing south of Whangarei on SH 1 and SH 16

. SH 14 two sites at Dargaville at the end of SH 14, with one site in the urban SH 12 section.

. SH 10 Bulls Gorge in the Kerikeri area

SH 1 just north of Wellsford.

. SH 16 Kumeu urban area at SH 16 Access Rd before and after Christmas

. SH 1 south of Warkworth at Moir Rd intersection and at Schedaways Hill, north of Puhoi

Mr Oldfield says the road repair and resurfacing will improve conditions and make the roads safer for everyone, but everyone has a role to play in keeping all road users and especially the road workers safe.

“Most temporary work sites just have orange road cones marking the lanes and they provide no protection against speeding or distracted drivers. Please slow down, stick to the speed limit, leave two car lengths space between you and the vehicle ahead and be patient. “

“Keeping your speed down where sealing work is underway, or has just been completed, not only helps chip to settle in the new road surface, it will also prevent stone chips flying into windscreens and protect our crews from injuries.”

Mr Oldfield says that while the road crews try to keep inconvenience and delays to a minimum, we urge people to be patient, plan your journey and allow extra time.

You can view planned road works ahead of your journey by checking the NZTA real time journey planner. The journey planner includes worksites, area warnings, traffic updates and state highways road works information. www.journeys.nzta.govt.nz

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