State Highway 1 Desert Rd to re-open after two-month closure

Desert Rd has been closed for major repairs. Photo / Pretoria Gordon

By RNZ

Desert Rd in the central North Island will re-open on Friday after a two-month closure for major roadworks.

State Highway 1 between Tūrangi and Waiouru has been shut since mid-January, forcing a 40-minute detour.

The transport agency’s contractors had now rebuilt and repaired 28 lane kilometres of road – 12 more than planned – and completely rebuilt the deck of the Mangatoetoenui Bridge, said maintenance and operations regional manager Roger Brady.

“By doing the work under full road closures, more invasive construction methods can be used which would not be possible under stop/go traffic management,” he said.

“It means SH1 is being brought up to a higher standard quickly, and New Zealanders can get back on a quality road surface sooner,” Brady said.

It was part of the country’s “largest and most ambitious” maintenance project: the Tīrau to Waiouru maintenance programme.

Before the works, Waka Kotahi said the stretch of the road was one of worst in Waikato, and among the most challenging to fix.

The road will reopen at 1pm on Friday, March 14, with traffic management and speed restrictions in some parts for the first three to four days.

Further work to finish the road surfacing will happen later in the year, and mostly be carried out at night.

When the closure was announced, the chief executive of a Māori trust that administers land in the area said he was blindsided.

A transport industry group said it would increase freight costs by $100,000 a day – but it supported the move, saying the road had to be fixed.

The closure was a welcome boost to Ruapehu businesses, diverting traffic to small towns like Ohakune, National Park, Taumarunui and Raetihi.

- RNZ