Roadworks will make holiday journeys longer

Holidaymakers driving north from Auckland over Easter are being urged to allow for extra travelling time because of roadworks at five key sites.

The Transport Agency says that although most construction will stop over the long weekend, drivers will still need to take care travelling through sites governed by speed restrictions to reduce the risk of broken windscreens and other damage from loose metal.

Those heading to the Coromandel Peninsula should also look for an electronic noticeboard at the intersection of State Highways 2 and 25 which will advise them to use a detour passing north of Paeroa if queues become too long on the one-way Kopu Bridge.

Drivers waiting until tomorrow morning to head north may face delays reaching the Fanshawe St on-ramp to the Northern Motorway because of the closure of the intersection of Victoria St West and Franklin St.

No Auckland passenger trains will run tomorrow, and there will be replacement bus services along much of the rail network for the rest of the long weekend to allow trackside construction and maintenance work.

Sports fans will have to rely on replacement buses to reach the Blues v Bulls rugby clash at Eden Park on Saturday and the Warriors v Manly rugby league match at Mt Smart Stadium on Sunday.

ROADWORKS

Central Auckland: The intersection of Victoria St West and Franklin Rd will be closed throughout Easter from early tomorrow until 5am on Tuesday.

Warkworth - SH1: Improvements to several intersections are likely to worsen traditional holiday-weekend jams. Transport Agency contractors will be on site to adjust traffic signals at the turnoff to Matakana and Snells Beach. Variable message signs will recommend that northbound drivers head west from Silverdale to State Highway 16 north of Helensville.

Helensville - SH16: Traffic will be reduced to one lane on the Punganui Stream bridge north of the town. The Transport Agency has installed traffic lights on the bridge approaches, requiring opposing drivers to take turns crossing the structure. But the bridge is south of where the detour from Silverdale joins State Highway 16, meaning refugees from State Highway 1 will not be affected by delays there.

Kerikeri - SH10: Drivers will need to slow down on their approach to a bridge over the Waitangi River, just north of the turnoff to Waitangi. The bridge is being resealed and the Transport Agency has imposed a 70km/h temporary speed limit.

Waititi Landing (Far North) - SH1: Agency contractors are sealing the final stretch of the highway to Cape Reinga, over a 5km section north from Waititi Landing. A 70km/h speed limit is in force and dust is an extra hazard.

Holidaymakers throughout Northland and Rodney should take extreme care to observe bans in the tinder-dry region.

A bush fire in the Dome Valley closed State Highway 1 for five hours three weeks ago and Rodney's principal rural fire officer, Scott Marchant, said a restricted fire season was being unusually extended until the end of April.

Returning holidaymakers are reminded that darkness will fall earlier after clocks go back one hour on Sunday morning with the end of daylight saving.