A stretch of State Highway 3 through Newbury in Manawatū will be closing later this month while the road is fully rebuilt.

The road will be closed for 2 weeks from 4am on 20 September to 11.59pm on 5 October, 7 days a week. A detour will be in place (please see the attached map).

The rebuild on SH3 through Newbury is being completed between Aranui Road and Hansens Line. Access remains for residents and businesses, please speak to road workers on site who can assist. 

During the closure, northbound traffic (heading towards Sanson) will be detoured left onto Kairanga-Bunnythorpe Road, right onto Rongotea Road and right onto Green Road before rejoining SH3. Southbound traffic (heading towards Palmerston North) will be detoured left onto Hansens Line, right onto Te Arakura Road right onto SH54 and back to SH3. 

Please expect the detours to add about 10 minutes minutes to journey times.

This work will be the first road rebuild for the 2025/26 summer renewal season in the Manawatū-Whanganui region. You’ll see crews on state highways throughout the region over the coming months working hard to improve the safety and resilience of the region’s state highways.

We’d like to thank road users for their patience while our crews work to ensure our roads stay in a safe condition for everyone to get safely from A to B. 

We know roadworks can be disruptive for our communities and because the best time to complete road resurfacing and rebuilding is during the warmer, drier months, they have the potential to impact on people’s journeys.

During this month’s work through Newbury, crews will be completely rebuilding this stretch of road, improving drainage and completing resealing works.

This work is taking place under a 27/4 closure during the school holidays to allow crews to complete it as efficiently as possible and to minimise ongoing impacts to road users.

Rebuilding the road, which often involves replacing all or most of the structural road layers, improves the longevity of the network, the resilience and ultimately the safety and efficiency for all road users.

When we rebuild a section of the road and apply a chipseal finish we need to come back later to carry out a second coat seal. This locks in the seal to make it waterproof, keeps it stronger and safer for longer, and helps reduce the likelihood of flushing occurring. That work will be communicated closer to the time..

This summer, roadworkers will be out across the region making improvements. Expect delays and allow extra time before you travel. 

Work is weather dependent and there may be changes to the planned works in the case of unsuitable weather. Please visit the NZTA Journey Planner website for up-to-date information on these works, including any changes due to weather.

Journey Planner(external link)

Detour map