Road works to cause delays at Te Kuiti and Kawhia from this week

Road works are planned for the road to Kawhia and the highway south of Te Kuiti over the next few weeks. Photo/ Alyssa Smith

Drivers on State Highway 3 are advised to expect delays, as work gets underway on Wednesday to build a retaining wall and culvert on a stretch of highway between Te Kūiti and the SH3/SH4 junction.

NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi regional manager of infrastructure delivery for Waikato, Bay of Plenty, Jo Wilton said cracks appeared on the section of SH3 between 2019 and 2020, which they had been monitoring.

“The cracks grew, and following an assessment, the cause was identified as a broken culvert and underslip.

To fix the problem, they would be constructing a 50-metre-long retaining wall and a new 825mm culvert would be installed to keep the road stable and resilient.

Work would begin this week to establish works on the site. The road would be down to one lane, and under stop-go traffic management, while the highway was temporarily widened on the southbound shoulder.

Once the road was widened, it would be reopened to two lanes under speed restrictions for up to three months while the retaining wall and culvert were built, with a few days of stop/go expected at the end of the project.

Kawhia road works

Works planned for SH31 - Kāwhia Road would require daytime closures, with the first one happening on March 5.

Old seal needed to be dug out on a site west of the Kāwhia lookout on Tuesday. The road would be closed from 8am-5pm but would reopen for an hour as a single lane between noon and 1pm.

The job was weather-dependant, with a contingency day of March 12.

NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi said the road would be open for residents up to the work site but not for through-traffic.

Access in and out of Kāwhia during the closure would be via SH39 to Ngutunui Rd, Pekanui Road, Okupata Road to Oparau and back on to SH31. The detour is a collection of local roads, with some unsealed stretches and would take about 10 minutes longer than SH31.

The work site can be cleared to allow emergency vehicles through.

Following the dig-out on Tuesday, the resealing works would be completed under stop/go traffic management.

A bigger job is ahead in April which would require about three weeks of closures during the day. This is to fix an underslip which has developed adjoining where work was done last year.

More details including dates for those closures would be provided in the next few weeks.

Later this year, work would also be required to fix an additional underslip nearer Kawhia Harbour Road, which is currently under single-lane.

Journey planning

• Traffic updates: journeys.nzta.govt.nz/traffic
• Facebook: facebook.com/TransportAgency
• Twitter: twitter.com/WakaKotahi_news
• Journey planner: journeys.nzta.govt.nz
• Phone: 0800 4 HIGHWAYS (0800 44 44 49)

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