Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency advises that work is about to start on significant road layout changes on State Highway 1 (SH1) at the Johnstones Hill tunnels, north of Auckland.

The changes are part of a staged sequence of work to connect SH1 to the new Ara Tūhono - Pūhoi to Warkworth motorway which is under construction north of the Johnstones Hill tunnels. There will be changes to the alignment of SH1 and new lanes added north of the tunnels before the motorway is due to open in May 2022.

“This is an exciting stage of the project because it’s bringing together the current SH1 with the new motorway and will help fix a known summertime traffic bottleneck at the tunnels for northbound traffic,” says Waka Kotahi Acting Senior Manager Project Delivery, Rod James.

The work starting on Sunday, 20 September will make temporary lane closures and road layout changes on the Pūhoi side of the tunnels. This is to create protected space for the construction team to start widening SH1 lanes coming out of the northbound tunnel.

From Sunday 20 September to Thursday 01 October (not including Friday and Saturday) the northbound tunnel will be closed at night. All northbound SH1 traffic will be moved to a southbound tunnel lane with stop/go traffic management in place.

The Hibiscus Coast Highway northbound lane will also be closed, with traffic diverted onto the southbound lane under stop/go traffic management.

Stop/go traffic management will be in place from 8.00PM to 5.00AM.

The safety of all road users is Waka Kotahi’s highest priority and the speed limit in the area will be reduced to 60km/h, says Rod James.

“We ask drivers to slow down, take care, watch your following distance with other vehicles and don’t be distracted by construction activity and workers on the roadside. We want everyone to get home safely.”

© Scoop Media