Transit New Zealand Wellington Regional Office

12 May 2005

Changes to road layout - Kaitoke to Te Marua project

Transit New Zealand is advising motorists to slow down and pay close attention to new signage and traffic controls at the Kaitoke to Te Marua construction site on State Highway 2.

The construction of the new road is well underway and motorists can expect frequent changes to the road layout throughout the project. This work will be ongoing for the next two months.

Transit's project manager, Peter Martineau said the project is entering a critical stage which involves moving traffic between the new and existing road alignments.

"The new road crosses the existing road at a number of locations along the 5.5km project. Comprehensive traffic controls will be in place to allow construction of the new road to continue while maintaining traffic flows on SH2," he said.

"Motorists should expect some minor delays when travelling this route due to the number of traffic controls being implemented. It's essential that drivers slow down and pay close attention to the signage and traffic control measures," Mr Martineau said.

A 70km/h speed restriction is already in place for the length of the project. This will be supplemented with lower speed areas of 50km/h and 30km/h as required. These speed restrictions are standard safety precautions due to unsealed roads, narrow lanes, traffic controls and sharp corners.

Mr Martineau said it is important for motorists to remember the traffic controls will be in place 24hrs a day, including overnight and weekends in some locations.

"They are there to protect the workforce and road users so please stick to the speed limit".

"Due to the road layout constantly changing, we are urging motorists to pay close attention, especially at night, as signage and speed limits may not be the same as that travelled in daylight earlier in the day," he said.

Road construction is due to be complete by the end of July 2005.

ENDS

© Scoop Media