NZTA will be working on a number of improvements to the road surface and the intersections with Paekākāariki Hill Road and Beach Road starting the first week of January. This is likely to affect you.
What’s happening?
NZTA will be resurfacing a one kilometre stretch of road from the old petrol station to the veggie shop. Pot holes, cracked roads and slippery road surfaces can increase the risk of crashes and injuries, so we’re making sure we have safe road surfaces to drive on.
Rather than dig up the road twice, we are going to use this opportunity to make some changes to the intersection with Beach Road. We are putting in a 20cms high concrete island topped with plastic posts in the middle of the road to separate south bound traffic turning from the state highway into Beach Road.
We will also be banning traffic turning right from Paekākāariki Hill Road onto State Highway 1 (SH1) and turning right from SH1 into Paekākāariki Hill Road. This will make the intersection safer.
How will this affect me?
We will be working at night to minimise delays to traffic in the day time. There will be traffic management controls in place at times during the day because we need to let the new road surface set. This will include speed restrictions and lane closures, which is likely to cause delays.
Please plan ahead and leave extra time for journeys. Speed restrictions are there to protect both drivers and the road workers, so please stick to them.
Once the right hand turn ban is in place, drivers on Paekākāariki Hill Road wanting to turn right onto SH1, will turn left onto SH1 instead and enter the old petrol station. At the southern end of the petrol station they can turn right on to SH1. See diagram. Northbound traffi c on State Highway 1 wanting to turn right onto Paekākāariki Hill Road or Tunapo Road, can turn left onto Ames Street (which is between Fisherman’s Table and the railway overbridge) and turn right out of Beach Road.
When is this happening?
Work on resurfacing the state highway will start Thursday 3 January for five to six weeks. The work on Paekākāariki Hill Rd will start in February for four weeks. Summer is the best time to reseal roads, as the warm temperatures and dry air helps the new seal to stick to the existing road surface. If we did the work in winter, the cold ground would mean the new surface would harden and crack, and we’d just have to do the work again next year.
Traffic volumes are also generally lower over summer and spread more evenly across the day, which means we can better manage the impact of our roadworks and avoid delays in rush hour when everyone is back at work.
Thank you for your patience while we work in your community.
