State Highway 1 is the only direct route between Taupō and Tūrangi.
State Highway 1 is the only direct route between Taupō and Tūrangi.
Road users travelling between Taupō and Tūrangi are in for significant disruption as Waka Kotahi NZTA prepares to close State Highway 1 between the towns in February.
The closure will be in effect between the Taupō airport roundabout and the State Highway 1 and 41 junction in Tūrangi, and will begin on February 14.
The road will be closed completely between 9am and 2.30pm Monday through Friday, with possible Saturday closures as needed. In addition, stop/go traffic management will be in place from 7am-9am and 2.30pm-7pm on these days.
Outside of these hours, lower speed restrictions will apply for all road users.
The closure of the only direct route between Taupō and Tūrangi will mean travellers will need to drive twice as far, with the detour route along State Highways 41 and 32 west of the lake coming in at more than 100km.
Works are anticipated to take up to two and a half weeks to complete.
The routine roadworks will replace the structural layers beneath the road surface - known as pavement - at Halletts Bay, 2.5kms north of Te Pōporo/Bulli Point, which underwent significant works in 2020.
The closed section of SH1 will affect communities along the eastern lake.
Waka Kotahi NZTA’s system manager Cara Lauder said the closure was regrettable, but unavoidable.
“The 330m section of road needs to be reconstructed, as the underlying layers of the road have reached the end of their useful life.
“Unfortunately, a closure of the road is the only safe way to complete this.
“We appreciate that this work is disruptive to both local residents and business owners, as well as those taking longer journeys.
“We’ve chosen an option that reduces disruption as much as possible, while providing a great outcome for road users moving forward”.
Rob Campbell, manager of maintenance and operations at Waka Kotahi NZTA, said that they have turned to new technologies to shorten the time spent on the works and provide the best possible outcome.
“The method we are using is known as foam bitumen stabilisation, where the existing material is recycled with additional bitumen to create a stronger material layer.”
He said that all options were explored, but a closure was the only real solution.
“An overnight closure was considered, however this would require lighting towers to be installed, and there is no room to place these within close proximity of the site.
“Good lighting is essential for the safety of our crews and to ensure the quality of the work is satisfactory.
“The road must be closed as this section of road is too narrow to allow machinery to work on the road alongside passing vehicles.”
In order to make the most of the closure time, other works will be undertaken along the road at the same time, including resurfacing 1.3km of road through Waitahanui, between Ahi Rd and south of Wairau Ave.
Residents along the closed section of road will still be able to access their properties, but businesses there will be affected, said Campbell.
“The closure points at the southern end of Taupō and northern end of Tūrangi will be ‘soft’ closures, and will allow residents and visitors through as required.
“‘Hard’ closure points will be in place closer to the worksite.
“We acknowledge that a number of businesses are located along the eastern side of Lake Taupō.
“Waka Kotahi and its maintenance contractor are committed to ensuring that these businesses can still operate during this time.”
