There’s been no easing into the new year for the Tauriko Enabling Works team, with major upgrade works undertaken in January at the intersection of State Highway 29 (SH29) and Cambridge Road.

After 4 weeks of intense construction, the crew has scaled back operations and is preparing for a full re-opening of the short section of Cambridge Road’s northbound lane, with school buses resuming.

At the intersection for today, Monday 2 February, people are able to turn left in and left out of Cambridge Road. 

This restriction is due to a difference in levels between the existing road level and the first layer of asphalt on the new lane. Another layer of asphalt will be laid tonight to address this.  

We advise road users to follow the below movements: 

• For the right turn into Cambridge Road: Continue along SH29 to the Redwood Lane roundabout to change direction, then use the lefthand lane into Cambridge Road.
• For the right turn onto SH29: Turn left onto SH29, travel down the hill and use the SH29/36 roundabout to change direction.

Crews will commence the asphalting work from 6pm tonight, with all traffic movements available at the intersection from tomorrow, Tuesday 3 February. Asphalting work will continue at night for one week (6pm to 6am) with a temporary 3-way stop/go and reduced speed limit of 30km/h in place while underway. 

The January lane closure allowed crews to safely carry out key activities, including: 

• removing 150 temporary sheet piles from the 120-metre-long retaining wall
• excavating 5,600 tonnes of earth to make way for the new road
• laying 1200 tonnes of asphalt to form the new northbound lanes of SH29 and on Cambridge Road, and
• installing watermains, stormwater, and other utilities. 

A huge amount of work was squeezed into January to complete key steps to prepare the intersection for its future traffic signals, additional lanes and shared path.

NZTA sincerely thanks local residents, the wider community and road users for their patience and support during this key upgrade work. 
 
SH29 Tauriko Village upgrades(external link)