SH25 Thames Coast Road Recovery Update

Work to repair and strengthen the rock protection walls on Thames Coast Road (State Highway 25 or SH25) is nearing completion, with attention now moving to rebuild the road.

The New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) has provided an update, which states almost three-quarters of the 6.7 km of rock protection walls between Thames and Manaia are finished.

Work to repair and reseal the road and replace damaged culverts is now the main focus. Project crews are more than halfway through this repair work, which is on track for completion by the end of June.

Reducing the number of work sites and increasing the number of teams working on rock walls has helped improve traffic flows along this stretch of SH25, however motorists should still expect delays to their journey with stop/go traffic management and speed restrictions at multiples sites.

Temporary rock protection walls are now complete at Te Mata and Thornton Bay and NZTA is working with the local community and other stakeholders to design a long-term solution which protects the road while giving residents access to the beach.

Coromandel Town is still open for business with a number of events coming up over the winter months including the Coromandel Seafood Festival on May 5 and Illume Winter festival in July.

Keep up-to-date:
• A webpage has been set up to provide travel information for the journey from Thames to Manaia
• The key traffic and travel source which provides up-to-date information on weather and road conditions nationwide is here
• Information is also shared via NZTA's Twitter and Facebook accounts, which you can access here
• Access the Thames Coromandel District Council facebook updates here
• Drivers can also call 0800 4 HIGHWAYS (0800 44 44 49) to speak to the call centre team who can provide them with traffic and travel information either before they’re travelling or when they’re on the road.
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Work to begin on Waiwawa River bridge
NZTA has also advised that work is about to start to repair the abutments on the Waiwawa River bridge at Coroglen.
This work should be finished by early June and is not expected to cause disruption to traffic.
There is also some minor work which will take place soon on the Takatakahia bridge on SH25A.
NZTA is continuing to finalise design, obtain consent and prepare tender documents on six projects that will help make the road more resilient to the effects of storms and heavy rain. These are:
• SH25A Kopu-Hikuai retaining wall
• Boundary Creek, rock wall to protect against erosion
• Kereta Hill, retaining wall
• Kereta Coast, rock wall to protect against erosion
• Kuaotunu Hill, retaining walls at two sites
• Matarangi, rock protection wall

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