State Highway 1 Tūrangi to Waiouru – including the Desert Road – will be closed for vital road rebuilding and repairs for around 2 months from Monday 13 January 2025.

This start date is 1 week later than originally planned, to try and reduce the impact on people’s summer holiday journeys, says NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA).

“We appreciate this is a very critical piece of road, so while we can’t postpone for long, we understand summer holiday journeys are important and no-one wants to be stuck in their vehicle longer than necessary,” says Roger Brady, Regional Manager of Maintenance and Operations for the Waikato and Bay of Plenty

“This section of SH1 is in one of the worst conditions in the Waikato region, it’s also one of the most challenging to fix. The alpine environment and potential for a cold snap means we have to do this closure in the peak summer months because the ground temperature needs to be at 13 degrees minimum to carry out pavement works.

Tūrangi to Waiouru is the southernmost section of the SH1 Tīrau to Waiouru Accelerated Maintenance project which is the largest and most ambitious maintenance and renewal project undertaken in New Zealand. NZTA is using block road closures of SH1 to deliver 4 years of road renewals within 16 months.  That’s 121.8 lane km of resurfacing and rebuilding works.

“We do not take road closures lightly, but by closing this section completely from 13 January, NZTA and contractors are able to complete the work more efficiently and safely. We can use more invasive construction methodology, which would not be possible under stop/go traffic management – meaning SH1 will be quickly brought up to a higher standard.

“If we attempted this amount of work under stop/go, road users would experience at least 8 weeks of disruption a year over the next four summers – in addition to a full closure for the bridge deck replacement.

“As well as fewer disruptive delays for motorists navigating temporary traffic management at numerous sites, it also means we can attend to other maintenance work such as upgrading drainage, clearing vegetation, and improving signage and road markings. 

“While the Desert Road is closed, we’ll be rebuilding or repairing 16 lane kilometres and replacing the deck on the Mangatoetoenui Bridge, which is around 23km south of Rangipō. Combining this deck replacement with the maintenance and rebuilding work is an efficiency win for everyone,” Mr Brady says.

More information will be available as soon as the detours are finalised, but it is likely that motorists would be detoured on (from north to south) – SH41, SH47, SH4, SH49 and back to SH1. The detour will add around 30 minutes to people’s journeys.

“It’s not unfamiliar to regular road users in this area, as this is the detour we use every time we do full closures of the Desert Road.”

SH46 will be open to give access to residents and businesses and those undertaking recreational activities in that area, but there will be no throughfare to or from SH1.

“NZTA is working with the freight industry and local councils throughout this project. We are also working with Iwi, businesses including tourism organisations and local freight companies and residents, to understand the impacts potential closures and detours will have,” Mr Brady says.

Nightworks will be required to lay the final seal. Timing is to be confirmed.

This work forms part of the government’s $2.07 billion investment into road and drainage renewal and maintenance across 2024-27 via the State Highway Pothole Prevention fund.

Motorists can plan ahead using the NZTA Journey planner - https://www.journeys.nzta.govt.nz/journey-planner(external link) . Our advice is - don’t always rely on Google Maps – sense check it first.

More information on our website: nzta.govt.nz/T2W.