24/11/2023
Works starting. Please travel safe.
An update on the safety improvements we're making to State Highway 3 in Waitara: On 11 December we'll start the next stage of construction on a roundabout and pedestrian underpass at the intersection of SH3 and Princess Street in Waitara.
Workers will be building the northbound lane of the roundabout and completing the pedestrian underpass. At the same time, they'll widen the road and start installing a median barrier between Bayly Street and Mamaku Road. They’ll also start building a stormwater outfall at the northern end of the Waitara River bridge which'll release stormwater into the awa.
There’s a lot of work to do, and to do it safely and efficiently we have to close SH3 between Nelson Street and Bayly Street from 11 December 2023 until 2 February 2024. There'll be a detour through Waitara township.
We know the closure and detour is inconvenient—we explored other options that didn’t involve closing the road completely, and they would've resulted in disruption for up to 18 months. By closing the road for just eight weeks we minimise the length of time your travel is disrupted. It also coincides with the school holidays, reducing the impact it otherwise would have.
More information about the closure and detour is available on our website: https://www.nzta.govt.nz/w2bb
