Longer waits and night-time closures at Takaka Hill road rebuild

Sunday, 8 March 2020

Contractors work to restore a section of SH60 on Takaka Hill after part of the road sunk this morning. Work had been ongoing since the road was wiped out by ex-tropical cyclone Gita in February last 2018.

Drivers face longer waits of up to 14 minutes at traffic lights and night-time closures as work to rebuild the cyclone-damaged Takaka Hill road begins on five new complex sites.

NZ Transport Agency's principal project manager for the rebuild, Chris Robertson, said people using the hill road would notice a change in how the single lane traffic was managed from this week.

There would be a new position for the top traffic light which controls vehicle movements, he said.

The work signals the second stage of the repairs needed to SH60, the only road access to Golden Bay, after ex-tropical-cyclone Gita caused extensive damage in February 2018.

Work will continue for the rest of the year, aiming to re-open to two lanes by the end of this year.

Map showing the shift in traffic signal location near the top of Takaka Hill, which will be in place in coming weeks.

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For safety reasons, Robertson asked cyclists to avoid the hill if possible while construction was underway between mid-March and October 2020.

'There will be heavy construction plant operating nearby and the road width will be significantly reduced,' Robertson said.

Since 2018, road access between Riwaka and the top of the Takaka Hill has been controlled over the one-lane sections with traffic signals. A timer shows people how long they have to wait.

Robertson said for the crews to get to the slip site at the top of the hill, the road must be reduced to one lane, and it needed to shift the traffic lights by 700 metres to include this area.

Work on the new sections of the damaged Takaka Hill road are set to start in March

This would add two minutes to wait times at the lights, increasing the total wait time to up to 14 minutes at each end of the stop points.

He said they planned to start moving the lights on Monday or Tuesday, weather permitting.

'This shift will take about two weeks to complete so during this time manual stop/go traffic management would be used.

Retaining wall designs had now been completed at the five significantly damaged sites on Takaka Hill with construction underway from mid-March.

The remaining five sites were all significant pieces of work with geotechnical risks, and there had been a huge amount of planning work needed before this work could safely get underway, Robertson said.

Repairs to the 10 less complex sites were completed in 2019.

Before on-site works get underway this month the safety barriers around the five major sites needed to be replaced, taking around 10 nights.

The road would be closed to do this work, with an opening for essential travel. The times and schedules were yet to be confirmed.

'The night closures will increase safety for maintenance crews, significantly reduce the number of day-time disruptions on Takaka Hill road and enable better quality maintenance and slip prevention work,' Robertson said.

Access will be available for emergency services throughout the night closures.

The Transport Agency's project team will meet with locals and answer any questions about the Takaka Hill road repairs on Saturday, 4 April, 9am to 11am at the Takaka Village Market, 49 Commercial Street, Takaka.