With warmer weather on the way, road users will notice more construction crews hard at work across the Waikato and Bay of Plenty regions as the 2025/2026 construction season starts. From rebuilding sections of state highway to laying fresh asphalt and carrying out our regular programme of summer maintenance, the focus this summer is on keeping roads safe, efficient and reliable. 

Andy Oakley, NZTA Waikato System Manager says spring is the ideal time to get this work underway. 

“This season’s programme is about more than just repairs. It’s about strengthening the network, so it remains safe, reliable and ready to meet the needs of all road users.”

“The key corridors that we’ll be targeting in the Bay of Plenty (BOP) this season are State Highway (SH) 29 from Tauriko to the Kaimai Summit, SH2 between Bethlehem and Bayfair and extending eastwards to Ōtamarākau, as well as SH5, SH30, SH30A and SH33 in the Rotorua area.” 

“In the Waikato region, we’ll be focusing on maintenance programmes including the Tīrau to Waiouru project which has recently restarted.”  

“Last year, we rebuilt around 49km of SH1 between Tīrau and Waiouru and by the end of the project in 2026, we’ll have rebuilt 66km of SH1 in total. This work is lifting the road to a much higher standard, meaning less disruptions and less maintenance needed in the future.” 

“We’re also tackling the Coromandel Peninsula, including the Coromandel Recovery Programme and repairs to the SH25 Boundary Creek Bridge. Given the upcoming peak summer season, we’re taking a careful and considered approach to this programme to minimise disruption.” 

On top of this work, crews are renewing roads across both regions through the State Highway Pothole Prevention Fund. This funding has been set aside specifically for resealing, rehabilitation, and drainage maintenance works, helping us to tackle the issues that keep roads from being in good condition for the long term within 24 hours. The goal for this fund is simple: get our state highways and local roads up to the safe and reliable standard that Kiwis expect so road users can spend less time worrying about potholes and more time enjoying the ride. 

“In the BOP we’ve repaired 1246 potholes since the 24-hour requirement began, and more than 98% of these were fixed within a day. In the Waikato, we’ve repaired 9312 potholes and more than 97% of these were fixed within 24 hours. That’s a great result.” 

To find out more about the upcoming maintenance season sign up to receive your regional newsletter here:

Maintenance updates(external link)

Waikato & Bay of Plenty State Highway Works 5 September 2025 [PDF, 214 KB]