Waikato Expressway roadworks traffic management leads to hours of delays on State Highway 1

Traffic management around roadworks on State Highway 1 at Taupiri and Rangiriri caused motorists “significant disruption” over the weekend. Some drivers spent hours on the road without reaching their destinations.

Hamilton resident Sarah Colman said she left home about 10.30am on Saturday, aiming to get to Auckland for a 12.30pm appointment.

“Before I got to the Huntly exit [the traffic] was already crawling,” Colman told the Waikato Herald.

“I started doubting whether I would make it.”

Colman said the section of highway after the Huntly turnoff traffic was “equally slow.

“There were spots where we were sitting still and others where we went at 5 kilometres an hour.”

Colman said she did not make it to Pokeno until about 1pm at which point she decided to turn around.

“Returning was almost equally as slow,” Colman said.

“It was crawling, crawling, crawling. In the end, I spent four hours on the road.”

SH1 Rangiriri detours for sealing work. Image / New Zealand Transport Agency Waka Kotahi

Colman said as she passed the roadworks there were “no signs of action”.

Hamilton resident Theresa Helbano drove to Auckland on Saturday to drop off a friend who was catching an international flight in the evening.

“We heard that there was really bad traffic on the motorway,” Helbano said.

“A friend of ours was stuck in the middle of it.”

Helbano said she Googled the route and saw the journey, which would usually take about 1.5 hours, could take close to three.

“Google’s shortest route avoided the motorway almost entirely. In the end, it took us almost exactly three hours.”

At one point, Helbano drove over SH1. She said the southbound lanes looked like “kilometres of standstill traffic.

“Luckily my friend’s flight was in the evening and we left earlier. If we had left home based on the usual travel time she would have missed it.”

In a post on X on Sunday night, Transport Minister Simeon Brown described the traffic as a “significant disruption”.

“Roadworks to reseal parts of the expressway have taken place this week but traffic management remained in place longer than required on a busy weekend, causing long delays for motorists,” Brown’s post said.

“This isn’t acceptable. Roadworks will always cause disruption, but unnecessary disruption only causes frustration for motorists. I have made my expectations clear to NZTA that they must ensure traffic disruption is minimised wherever possible.”

NZTA regional manager for infrastructure delivery Jo Wilton said the organisation apologised for the “the excessive delays.

“We appreciate the frustration and inconvenience this caused road users and we’re reviewing what contributed to the delays and what can be improved to ensure this doesn’t happen again.”

Wilton said NZTA was in the “final throes of a big work push” committed to getting the chip sealing on that stretch done by Easter.

“We’re looking at what changes we can make for the remaining fortnight of work to ensure we can keep traffic moving through at a more reasonable pace.”

Wilton said NZTA appreciated road users have had to persevere with remedial works in the area for “some time.

“If the weather plays ball, Easter holiday traffic will be travelling through here at 110km/h ensuring more of everyone’s valuable time is spent enjoying the break rather than in traffic queues.”

A 4.8km section of the Waikato Expressway at Rangiriri has been operating with a 70km/h speed limit since before Christmas. Contractors started laying the final surface on the section last week, with work expected to take 20 days (10 continuous days’ work in each direction) and was scheduled to be completed before the Easter holidays.

Safety works through the Taupiri to Horotiu area have reduced the expressway to one lane in each direction with speed limits of 50km/h and 70km/h. According to the NZTA’s website, pavement repair works on the section are expected to continue until March 31, 2025.

Maryana Garcia is a Hamilton-based multimedia reporter covering live news in Waikato. She previously wrote for the Rotorua Daily Post and Bay of Plenty Times.

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