Waka Kotahi is advising motorists of anticipated delays while essential maintenance work is undertaken on the on the SH1 Penrose Road bridge.

The essential maintenance work will begins today (Friday 14 January 2022) and is anticipated to take six weeks to complete. In order to minimise disruptions, the work will be carried out overnight on weekends only (Fri – Sun), from 9pm to 8am.

While work is being carried out SH1 northbound lanes from Mt Wellington to Ellerslie-Panmure Interchange will be closed. Traffic will be detoured onto Great South Road. Detours will be signposted and add approximately 10 minutes to your journey.

During the six weeks of planned work, the Penrose Road bridge will be operating with stop/go controls from 9pm each Friday through to 8am each Monday. These restrictions are necessary to ensure that traffic can safely move across the bridge while it is being repaired.

“The Penrose Road bridge is the lowest bridge on the Auckland motorway network and because of this it is prone to bridge strikes (oversized transport trucks hitting the bridge). With recent upgrades in 2017 to install a new warning system and the addition of a bridge protection beam to absorb the impact of any strikes, the bridge’s old steel plate is now redundant. As the old steel protecting has sustained significant damage over the years it must be removed,” says Jacqui Hori-Hoult, Waka Kotahi Transport Systems Regional Manager for Auckland and Northland.

“As the six week work programme coincides with two long weekends, Auckland Anniversary and Waitangi Day, there may be delays to some people’s holiday journeys. We appreciate that these works will be disruptive for commuters, but this maintenance is necessary to keep journeys on Auckland’s motorway network safe for everyone.”

Waka Kotahi thanks motorists in advance for their patience while this work is completed. For more information please contact comms@asm.nzta.govt.nz or call 0800 444 449.

Plan ahead for a safe, enjoyable journey. Keep up to date with:

· COVID-19 services update: nzta.govt.nz/COVID19

· Traffic updates: journeys.nzta.govt.nz/traffic

• Facebook: facebook.com/nztaakl
• Twitter: twitter.com/WakaKotahiAkNth
• Journey planner: journeys.nzta.govt.nz
• Phone: 0800 4 HIGHWAYS (0800 44 44 49)

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