Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency advises that work is about to start on Stage 3 of safety improvements on State Highway 1 in the Dome Valley, north of Warkworth.

Stage 3 covers the construction of retaining walls and soil nailed walls to stabilise the roadside embankment on a section of state highway on the northern side of the Dome Valley up to the summit. The road will be widened with flexible wire rope barriers installed in the centreline to improve safety and prevent head on collisions.

“The bank stabilisation will provide a safe working environment for other road improvements and prevent landslips on to the road in future,” says Waka Kotahi Senior Manager Project Delivery Andrew Thackwray.

The work will be carried out at night starting, weather permitting, on Tuesday 24 November from 7:00PM to 5:00AM with stop/go traffic management in place. It will require closure of the current passing lane for southbound traffic.

“The traffic management will be a temporary stop/go that will allow one lane to be closed, ensuring the safety of the work crews and road users. We will be monitoring the queues and minimising wait times as much as possible.”

“Waka Kotahi apologises for any inconvenience and advises road users to plan ahead and allow extra time for their journeys. The work is being done at night to minimise disruption for freight movements and the travelling public.”

There will be a temporary 30kph speed limit through the works area during the night.

Similar work will also start next month on Stage 5 which runs from Sheep World up to the summit on the southern side.

The work will continue until just before Christmas and the site will shut down from 23 December to 5 January to minimise disruption for Christmas holiday traffic.

Both Stages 3 and 5 will be completed towards the end of 2021.

The planned safety improvements on SH1 through the Dome Valley include widening the existing road, embankment reshaping, construction of right hand turn bays and installation of flexible wire rope barriers in the central median.

The project started in early-2019 and is expected to be completed in late-2021. The work is split into five stages along the 15km section of SH1 from Wellsford to north of Warkworth, with Stage 2 to be completed before the end of the year. Stage 4 will be completed early next year.

More info at https://www.nzta.govt.nz/projects/sh1-dome-valley/

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