End in sight for Kerikeri Road rehabilitation
The two-way traffic system will be reinstated on Kerikeri Road this Friday (18 November) as road works on a section of the road is completed this week.
The team working to rehabilitate a section of Kerikeri Road is dedicated to completing the work by the end of this week, on time, and in time for an influx of weekend crowds including those taking part in the Kerikeri Half Marathon and the Kerikeri Street Party.
The three week project to reconstruct a 550m section of Kerikeri Road will end on Friday 18 November with traffic flows in both directions being reinstated.
The comprehensive work of removing the existing tarmac, upgrading the road base, and applying a 200mm layer of hot mix has meant restricting the main road into Kerikeri to a one-way system which allows traffic into the town and to access businesses along the affected part of the road (extending from the Old Packhouse Market to the Maraenui Road intersection). Drivers leaving Kerikeri have been diverted to the Heritage Bypass to join State Highway 10 at Waipapa.
The works have shown how crucial this section of road is to the local community and the $1.2million project aims to provide a road surface that will require minimal ongoing maintenance for the next 25 years. Final surfacing of the road starts this Wednesday 16 November and runs until Friday 18 November. Road sealing work must be carried out between 1 October and 31 March each year, due to more favourable weather conditions and soil temperatures.
Calvin Thomas, General Manager Northland Transportation Alliance said maintaining traffic flow into the town and keeping people safe were priorities of the project. “I would like to thank those who have continued to support businesses affected by the work. Roading contractors have been assisting motorists to access Kerikeri Road businesses throughout the project and will continue to do so until the surfacing and tarsealing work is finished this week.”
The three week work schedule has gone to plan but if weather does disrupt work this week the one-way system will still end this Friday, with any further work being completed with traffic control or night works if necessary. The road will not return to the one-way system.
Go to the Kerikeri Road Rehabilitation webpage to find out more about the project and progress.