A stretch of State Highway 2 just south of Te Karaka will be under temporary stop/go traffic management from next week while crews resurface the road.

Work on the stretch of road at the Hakanui Straight project will begin next Wednesday (11 November) and is expected to take two weeks to complete.

During the work, the road will be reduced to one lane from 7am till 5pm Monday to Friday. Outside those work hours, both lanes will be open, and a reduced speed limit will remain in place.

Please allow an additional 5 to 10 minutes for your journey.

The flood resilience project, which saw about 850 metres of SH2 raised by around three metres, new culverts and drainage installed and safety barriers installed, was completed in April this year.

As is usual with every new project, Hakanui Straight was due for a second coat of chipseal to be applied to the road between 6 and 12 months after the project’s completion.

A second coat seal locks in the surface to make it even more waterproof, keeps it stronger and safer for longer, and improves grip. 

Since completion of the project, the Transport Rebuild East Coast alliance has been monitoring the performance of this stretch of road, following a winter of heavy rainfall.

This monitoring has shown that remedial work is needed to ensure the underlying road surface is an acceptable quality before completing this second coat seal.

After the new seal beds in, the second coat will take place next summer season.

Road rebuild

Meanwhile, further south, a stretch of State Highway 2 will be closed for a week later this month for road rebuilding.

The road, between King Road and Pilmer Road will close from Monday 23 to Monday 30 November between 8:40am and 7pm each day, Monday to Saturday.

The road will OPEN between 2:20pm and 3:20pm weekdays for school traffic; resident access will be maintained during the closure. 

A detour will be in place via Bushmere Rd, allow an additional 5 minutes of travel time. Over height vehicles will be queued and escorted through the site.

Stop/stop traffic management will be in place near the intersection with Bloomfield Rd prior to the closure from Wednesday 18 to Saturday 21 November and after the closure from Tuesday 1 to Thursday 3 December from 8:40am and 7pm each day. Expect delays of up to 10 minutes during these periods.

Outside of these work hours a temporary speed restriction will remain in place for the duration of the work.