Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency’s Takaka Hill rebuild team begin work on five complex repair sites at the same time, from mid-March.

From next week, people who use the hill road will notice a change in how the single lane traffic is managed ahead of a new position for the top traffic light which controls vehicle movements.

This signals the second stage of the repairs needed to SH60, the only road access to Golden Bay, after ex-tropical-cyclone Gita caused extensive damage in February 2018.

This work will continue all this year, aiming to reopen to two lanes by the end of 2020.

Since 2018, road access between Riwaka on the Motueka side of the hill, and the top of the Takaka Hill, has been controlled over the one-lane sections with traffic signals. A timer shows people how long they have to wait.

“For our crews to get to the slip site at the top of the hill, the road must be reduced to one lane, and we need to shift the traffic lights by 700 metres to include this area,” says Principal Project Manager Chris Robertson.

This will add two minutes to wait times at the lights, increasing the total wait time to up to 14 minutes at each end of the stop points.

“We plan to start moving the lights on Monday or Tuesday next week (9 and 10 March), weather permitting. This shift will take about two weeks to complete so during this time manual stop/go traffic management will be used. We thank all Takaka Hill and Golden Bay drivers for being patient while this next stage is safely installed,” he says.

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