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 | SH1 Tīrau to Waiouru maintenance update | |
 | 3 November 2025 | |
In this week’s issueTokoroa to Ātiamuri works starting Sunday 9 NovemberStaying safe on detour routesMotuoapa enabling works underwayHatepe Hill night workWhy are there cones side by side between Taupō and Tūrangi? Work coming up  |
| Tokoroa to Ātiamuri: From Sunday 9 November, SH1 will be closed overnight between 7pm and 6am, from the SH1/SH32 intersection at Tokoroa to the SH1/Kinleith Road intersection. Overnight traffic will be detoured from SH1 down SH32, Old Taupō Road, Kinleith Road and back onto SH1. This detour adds approximately 5km and 5 minutes to travel time.Work underwayPutāruru to Tokoroa: Overnight work continues using stop/go traffic management on sites between Putāruru and Tokoroa. Work is between 7pm and 6am, Sunday to Thursday nights. During the day there are temporary speed limits. Due to poor weather over the last few weeks, we have moved the schedule around and we are moving work at the Puriri passing lanes to early 2026.Taupō to Tūrangi: Motuoapa: Enabling work has started at the southern end of Motuoapa and will continue until approximately Friday 7 November, using daytime stop/go. This work is weather dependent. Daytime work is Monday to Friday, between 7am and 6pm. Outside of working hours, the road will be open under temporary speed restrictions. Hatepe Hill: Overnight work continues using stop/go traffic management. Work at Hatepe is Sunday to Thursday, please prepare for some delays. | |
| Tokoroa to Ātiamuri works starting Sunday 9 November We’re returning to do the final surface on approximately 8.2 kms of SH1 between Tokoroa and Ātiamuri. This overnight work is currently scheduled to start this Sunday 9 November and will continue for 20 night shifts (weather dependent). We need to close the road during this work because of the volume of asphalt we are laying across lengthy sites. We will complete the northern 2 sites (north of SH1/Kinleith Road intersection) first and then shift to the southern sites (south of Kinleith Road) to minimise the length of the detour routes. | |
| Staying safe on detour routes We’re often asked how we choose our detours. We recommend routes based on their suitability for both light and heavy traffic, considering safety, added travel time, road capacity, and whether bridges and infrastructure can handle heavy vehicles.We work closely with the freight industry, logging and dairy companies, and local councils to develop and refine detour plans to minimise disruption. We also factor in local events, scheduled maintenance, and other nearby roadworks that could cause further delays.Where possible, official detours use state highways, as they’re designed for higher traffic volumes and heavy vehicles. If no suitable state highway is available, or the detour would be too long, we collaborate with neighbouring councils to use appropriate local roads – such as in this case, with South Waikato District Council.Some may wonder why familiar local roads aren’t recommended. Reasons include:impact on residents from increased trafficroad or bridge suitability for higher volumescurrent road condition and safety.Whatever route is chosen, all road users should drive to the conditions, take care, and plan ahead. Check the NZTA Journey Planner for the detour routes and travel times. | |
| Motuoapa enabling works underway The crews have been working on shoulder clearing and subsoil drainage at Motuoapa this week. We have lost quite a few shifts because of rain and are relooking at our schedule so the work sites may continue to move around a little bit. This may include pushing the asphalt rebuild at Motuoapa into early 2026. We will update you on the schedule and our plans as soon as we canSubsoil drainage work just south of Motuoapa. | |
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| Hatepe Hill night workCrews are almost finished at Hatepe Hill. Weather dependent, we expect to be finished there this week. Over the duration of works they have laid more than 8000 tonnes of asphalt.Laying asphalt at Hatepe hill. | |
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| Cindy the Mobile Asphalt Plant has been busy. | |
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| Why are there cones side by side between Taupō and Tūrangi? Some of you have been asking why there are 2 cones side by side along the centreline as part of our traffic management between Taupō and Tūrangi. These cones are marking out the lateral safety zone for our workers working in the lanes right beside live traffic.The first line of cones acts as the guide for the traffic, and the second row of cones ensures there is enough space between the live traffic and where our crew is working. When our crews are busy laying asphalt, they don’t also want to be constantly checking if they’re far enough away from the live traffic travelling through the site. The second row of cones does that job for our crew to keep them safe.We are still experiencing people speeding through our sites and not following the temporary traffic management and speed limits. The cones are all that separates our workers from vehicles travelling past. Please slow down. Our crew members are someone’s son or daughter, partner, husband, wife, mum or dad. They just want to do their jobs and get home safely too.This image shows the 2 cones marking out the space between the works area and large trucks travelling in the live lane at Hatepe. | |
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| More information | |
| For more information on the SH1 Tīrau to Waiouru maintenance, contact us at SH1Waikato@nzta.govt.nzVisit our website nzta.govt.nz/t2w | |