Culvert work to temporarily close alternative Kaikohe route
A secondary road link between Moerewa and Kaikohe will be closed to through traffic this weekend while a large culvert is installed.
A secondary road link between Moerewa and Kaikohe will be closed to through traffic this weekend while a large culvert is installed.
Work to install a new culvert on Ngapipito Road has been planned since November 2022 and will be the final step in a government-funded project to seal the alternative link between State Highway 1 (at Moerewa) and State Highway 15 (south of Kaikohe). The work is now going ahead after wet weather caused repeated delays and left levels in the stream being piped too high to safely operate in.
The culvert is being installed approximately 250m east of the intersection with Rakautao Road and, due to its size, requires a trench close to 4.5 metres deep to be excavated. This can only be completed safely by closing the road to all traffic while installation of the culvert is underway. All properties on either side of the site will be accessible throughout the work.
Two-way Stop/Go traffic controls will be in place on Friday morning 24 March while preparation work is underway. However, the road will be closed to through traffic on Saturday and Sunday. Two detour routes will be available on those days: one along State Highway 12 from Kaikohe to Ōhaewai and continuing on to Moerewa via State Highway 1. A second alternative route from State Highway 15 south of Kaikohe will take drivers though Punakitere Valley and Matawaia via Orakau Road before joining State Highway 1 at Moerewa.
Two-way Stop/Go traffic controls will be reinstated on Monday 27 March until that remaining section of Ngapipito Road is sealed.
Ngapipito Road is one of three roads in the Far North earmarked for upgrades and sealing to provide communities with more reliable alternative road links. Seal extensions have been undertaken on Peria Road to improve an alternative link to Kaitāia, while upgrades and sealing work on Ruapekapeka Road has also been undertaken on an alternative route for SH1 south of Kawakawa. The projects include seal extensions totalling 16km and were funded through a $20.7 million Provincial Growth Fund grant.
