Auckland Regional Office

16 October 2006

New and improved road surface for Newmarket Viaduct

Newmarket Viaduct on the Southern Motorway (SH1) will be partially closed to traffic on five nights between Tuesday 24 October and Monday 30 October, for resealing work to take place on the southbound lanes.

The work will only take place between Sunday and Thursday nights from 11pm to 5.30am. There will be no closures on Friday or Saturday nights and daytime traffic will be unaffected.

The northbound lanes will remain open throughout.
The partial closures are required to lay a new road surface on the viaduct. The new seal will provide a uniform, smoother surface which will improve both the safety and driving experience for motorists.

On the night of each closure, one lane will be open from 9pm to 11pm with all three southbound lanes closed from 11pm until 5.30am. Wet weather may postpone the work and further notice will advise of the next appropriate night until Thursday 16 November.

A clearly signposted detour will be in place during the closures. Motorists will be required to detour off the Southern Motorway from the Gillies Ave off-ramp, turning left into Gillies Ave, right into Mortimer Pass, right into Broadway, left into St Marks Road and back onto the motorway via the St Marks Road on-ramp.

The resealing of the Newmarket Viaduct – the most heavily trafficked section of motorway in New Zealand with more than 200,000 vehicles crossing it each day - is necessary to maintain safety and restore the smoothness of the road surface, says Transit regional manager, Peter Spies.

“A unique type of asphalt, a mix of light coloured ‘blonde’ binder material and volcanic ‘dacite’ stone containing high levels of quartz and other reflective minerals, will be used for the reseal. The effect will be to create a surface that, unlike the more usual black tar and chip seal surfaces, does not heat up in the sun. The cooler blonde/dacite asphalt mix will help to stop the viaduct from flexing and cracking the surface.” he says.

The northbound lanes on the viaduct were resurfaced in April this year, and this second and final stage to reseal the southbound lanes will successfully complete the work.

ENDS

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