UPDATE: State Highway 2 Totara Park works
NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi | 13 May 2025 9:11am | Wellington
13 May
The next stage of road rebuild and safety improvements for State Highway 2 Totara Park will begin this Sunday (18 May).
Drainage works have been completed, and work crews are about to begin a road rebuild and install new safety barriers.
New drainage being installed, SH2 Totara Park, May 2025.
The pavement and median barrier works will take approximately six weeks to complete and will require night closures of State Highway 2 between Totara Park Road and Mangaroa Hill Road/Fergusson Drive.
The highway will be closed to traffic Sunday to Thursday nights between 8:30 pm and 3:30 am.
The works have been deliberately timed to be done at night when traffic volumes are lighter as this minimises overall disruption for drivers.
A detour will be available via Fergusson Drive and Upper Hutt. However, this will require extra travel time and drivers should allow extra time for their journeys.
Roadworks will be ongoing at this location until late June.
Works schedule and detour map:
- Sunday 18 May to Friday, 27 June. Sunday to Thursday nights, 8:30 pm – 3:30 am.
- SH2 CLOSED between Totara Park Road and Mangaroa Hill Road/Fergusson Drive.
- SH2 will be open in both directions during the day under a 50 km/h speed limit,
- Detour for all traffic via Fergusson Drive.
View larger detour map during rebuild works [PDF, 254 KB]
More information:
24 April
Upper Hutt residents and regular travellers between the Hutt Valley and the Remutaka Hill on State Highway 2 need to be ready for nine weeks of State Highway 2 improvements in Upper Hutt.
Drainage works, safety improvements, and road rebuilds are planned near Totara Park start on Sunday 27 April and will continue until late June.
Drainage work will begin Sunday 27 April , a road rebuild will be underway mid-May, and then new safety barriers will be installed, and line marking will be done from late June.
The result will be a much better and safer stretch of State Highway 2.
The road rebuild will see the road excavated to around 300mm. It means drivers will experience an uneven surface during the day and can expect to see a temporary lower speed limit in place.
The planned drainage work is critical for keeping water away from the road to help prevent potholes, and the new median barriers will help improve the route’s safety.
Contractors will install new barriers between Totara Park Road and Fergusson Drive. This continues work started in 2023, where median safety barriers were installed between the Whakatiki Street and Gibbons Street intersections.
SH2 Upper Hutt safety barriers after installation, August 2023.
The project will require nighttime road closures while the work is underway.
Due to closures and detours, road users should expect nighttime travel delays in the area until the work is completed. Drivers are advised to plan ahead and allow extra time for their journeys.
These works are weather-dependent and may be delayed or rescheduled if bad weather occurs.
Works schedule:
- Late April to mid-May - drainage works
- Nighttime southbound closure.
- SH2 open in both directions during the day under a temporary speed limit.
- Mid-May to early June - road rebuild works
- Full nighttime closure.
- SH2 open in both directions during the day under a temporary speed limit.
- Early June to late June – median barrier works
- Full nighttime closure.
- SH2 open in both directions during the day under a temporary speed limit.
- Full nighttime closure.
- Detour via Fergusson Drive and Totara Park Road.
- SH2 open in both directions during the day.
More information:
- Research shows median barriers virtually eliminate head-on crashes and reduce deaths and serious injuries from run-off-road crashes by around 40 to 50 percent.
- Head-on crashes are the leading cause of death on state highways and account for approximately half of all deaths recorded. Safety barriers offer a second chance. They help reduce the chance of a simple mistake costing lives and destroying families.
Useful links: