Shift workers and tourists affected by rolling Remutaka Hill Rd overnight closures

Thursday, 15 October 2020

The northern side of the SH2 Remutaka Hill Rd from the air.

Shiftworkers and travellers heading across the Remutaka Range in the night could be caught out, with overnight closures planned for the busy road in the coming months.

As more traffic traverses the winding pass from Wairarapa to the Hutt Valley, Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency has opted for a second round of night closures on the main arterial route to prevent daytime disruption.

Twenty-two nights of maintenance from 9pm-4am over the next several months were scheduled to start on November 8, some of which were planned in five-day blocks.

Carterton nurse Michelle Wilson who works at Hutt Hospital was disappointed commuters weren’t given more notice, as their roster for next month was already set.

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Mark Owen of Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency said road closures were necessary for worker safety.

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“We’re short-staffed as it is so it’s not an easy thing to do for us to change it.”

South Wairarapa Mayor Alex Beijen said planned closures were better than poorly maintained roads.

Wilson anticipated other shift workers with jobs in medicine and Corrections who lived in Wairarapa and worked in the Hutt would have similar problems.

The alternate route north through Manawatū took more than two and a half hours longer.

Waka Kotahi regional transport systems manager Mark Owen said the road needed to be fully closed to traffic for the safety of the maintenance crews.

This would be the second series of overnight closures, which started last year to reduce the number of day time disruptions.

“Previously, work on the Remutaka Hill Road had been done during the day with approximately 300 stop/go road works throughout the year causing significant disruptions for motorists,” Owen said.

Last year, around 313 vehicles travelled on the route each night between 9pm to 4am, compared to 7381 vehicles during the day.

South Wairarapa Mayor Alex Beijen was not too concerned about the night closures impacting the resilience of the region as he believed a well-maintained road was more important.

“Given that any work done on the hill actually improves our resilience, it’s much better to have it planned and done, rather than dragged out over a much longer period which increases the risk of closure due to lack of maintenance.”

Former Greytown resident Sam Verhey said he had come across travellers caught short by past road closures.

He remembered explaining to a family travelling from Gisborne about 10pm that the alternative route was a three and half hour drive through Manawatu.

“They all looked a bit miserable at the prospect of a closed hill and a long trip around.”

Emergency services were aware of road closures and planned accordingly.

Kate Worthington of Wellington Free Ambulance said they were able to use the road even when it was closed to the public, and they worked with the transport agency and police to minimise disruption to the service.

“With previous planned closures of the Remutaka Hill we have always maintained access to the road to ensure emergency ambulance provisions and resilience for our community.”

Road Transport Forum chief executive Nick Leggett said trucking companies would need to reschedule work, but they were consulted before the programme began and would work around it.

He also said benefits of work on the vital piece of state highway outweighed the inconvenience of road closures.

“Until the Manawatū-Tararua Highway is built, this is really the only route through to Wellington for the Wairarapa and Hawke’s Bay freight, so everyone wants to see road improvements.”

Planned closures dates (and each following morning): November 8-12, December 13, January 17-20, February 14, March 7-11, April 11, and June 13-17.

‘The Hill Road’

The Remutaka Hill Rd traverses the pass between the upper part of the Remutaka Range to the south and the Tararua Range to the north. The winding 16km stretch of road links the southern Wairarapa town of Featherston with Kaitoke in Upper Hutt.

Millions have been spent on parts of the road on the Upper Hutt side, removing some of the tightest corners, but the route remains challenging for large trucks to remain left of the centreline on some corners.

It takes motorists around 50 minutes to drive from Featherston to Wellington City, but if the hill road is closed the next shortest journey is via Manawatū which takes around three and a half hours to the capital.