No eastbound trucks as Waitakaruru Twin Bridge on SH25 repaired

General vehicles can continue to use the bridge as normal ahead of the repairs. Photo / Google Maps

Work is due to start today to repair the deck on the eastern side of the Waitakaruru Twin Bridge on SH25 north of the SH2/SH25 junction in Mangatarata

Waka Kotahi says a recent inspection detected the need for deck repairs and it is aiming to have them done before the Easter holiday period. The road is the main route for much of the Auckland holiday traffic that will be heading to Coromandel

Last week, repair materials for the bridge were prepared off site with work to be carried out from today.

The bridge will be closed during the day while this work is undertaken, but traffic will be able to cross the river via the adjacent westbound bridge where stop-go traffic management will be in place.

The bridge will reopen to traffic in the evenings, excluding eastbound heavy vehicles (Class 2 or above), which have been asked to detour via SH2 and Hauraki Rd until the repairs are complete.

NZTA Waikato system manager maintenance and operations Cara Lauder says the work is expected to be complete by Thursday, April 13.

"We acknowledge that there will be significant traffic volumes looking to use SH25 across the Easter and Anzac long weekends and our contractors will do their utmost to have the bridge repaired and open ahead of this time," Lauder says.

General vehicles can continue to use the bridge as usual before the repairs, and the westbound bridge remains open to all traffic.