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State Highway 1 as it emerges from the Johnstones Hill Tunnels. The northbound lane of Hibiscus Coast Highway is on the right.
Major road layout changes to connect State Highway 1 to the new Puhoi to Warkworth motorway, currently under construction, kicked-off this month.
The NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) says the work will involve the re-alignment of State Highway 1 and the addition of new lanes immediately north of the Johnstones Hill Tunnels.
NZTA acting senior manager for project delivery Rod James says in addition to ultimately connecting the new motorway to SH1, the works will help fix a known summertime traffic bottleneck at the tunnels for northbound traffic.
Work began on September 20 with temporary lane closures and road layout changes on the Pūhoi side of the tunnels. This is to create protected space for the construction team to start widening SH1 lanes coming out of the northbound tunnel.
To facilitate the works, the northbound Johnstones Tunnel will be closed at night (between 8pm and 5am) until October 1, except on Fridays and Saturdays. Northbound traffic is being redirected on to a southbound tunnel lane with a stop/go traffic management system in place.
The Hibiscus Coast Highway northbound lane is also closed during these times with traffic diverted onto the southbound lane under stop/go traffic management. To enhance safety, NZTA has reduced the speed limit in the area to 60km/h
“We ask drivers to slow down, take care, watch your following distance with other vehicles and don’t be distracted by construction activity and workers on the roadside,” Mr James says.
On the night of Wednesday, September 30 both northbound and southbound tunnels will be closed for maintenance between 8pm and 5am.
