Waka Kotahi – the New Zealand Transport Agency – is set to start renewal work over almost a quarter of the 220km long road between Piarere and the Waiouru.
And it will involve compacting what would normally have been four years’ work into just less than one and a half.
Piarere roundabout construction started this year.
The intensive 16-month project will start on September 9 when State Highway 1 from near the SH5 roundabout at Tīrau to the State Highway 28 intersection north of Putāruru – a distance of more than 9km – will close for four weeks.
Detour details have yet to be announced, but a natural route heading south would be via SH5 and White’s Rd, which is SH2B, and that would add a few minutes on what is usually a nine-minute drive between the two South Waikato towns.
The transport agency says it is one of largest and most ambitious maintenance and rehabilitation projects it has undertaken.
It also dovetails in with the construction of a major roundabout at Piarere, where the T-intersection with SH29 – the road to Tauranga – has long been a headache. That project is expected to be completed in early 2026.
At the same time the 16km Waikato Expressway extension from Karāpiro to Piarere is back on the to-do list having been identified in the $22 billion Government Policy Statement on land transport as a Road of National Significance.
The Piarere-Waiouru road is ranked third worst in terms of quality on the network by NZTA.
“We’re prioritising improving that by bringing forward the next four years of maintenance and delivering it by the end of 2025,” NZTA Regional Manager of Maintenance and Operations Roger Brady said.
Up to 2400 heavy vehicles and 9500 light vehicles use the corridor every day.
“With an increasing number of potholes, this stretch of road has also seen more maintenance activity required just to maintain the current condition,” Brady said.
“This accelerated approach will reduce temporary traffic management and labour costs by delivering the work in less than half the time originally planned, and result in fewer potholes on the network over the next 25 years. Worker safety will also be improved by working in full closures, rather than adjacent to live traffic lanes.”
NZTA says it will work with road users, freight companies, and local body councils over the next month in preparation for the first section of works.
“Our state highways are critical routes for freight and tourism, and serve as important lifelines for communities around New Zealand,” Brady said. “NZTA is strongly focused on maintenance and renewals, reducing potholes, and planning this work to minimise the disruption to road users where possible.”
The Piarere Roundabout project – pictured here in June – is expected to be completed in early 2026.
