HomeThe Local RagMake the most of Ruapehu while it is!

Make the most of Ruapehu while it is!

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After the Christmas hiatus, road maintenance is back with a major closure of State Highway 1. The Desert Road, between TÅ«rangi and Waiouru, is now closed. It will be closed for approximately 2 months, ending Mid-March sometime.

Waka Kotahi NZTA said the work involved reconstructing 16 kilometres of road, improving drainage, clearing 15 kilometres of road shoulder and replacing the deck of the Mangatoetoenui Bridge.

New bridge deck will add 50 years to its lifespan

Regional manager of maintenance and operations in Waikato-Bay of Plenty, Roger Brady, said the bridge was built in 1966 and in need of replacement.

“This job alone would require the road to have been closed for about a month, so being able to do this at the same time as the other maintenance work due is a real win,” he said.

The new deck for the Mangatoetoenui Bridge had been designed and was being built in Napier, ready to be shipped this week.

It consisted of steel girders and a concrete slab, which would be transported in two sections and then stitched together once on-site.

Once the new deck was in place, the Mangatoetoenui Bridge was expected to last another 50 years before it needed replacing.

Desert road closure

The Desert road will be closed from Monday for two months. Photo: Supplied/NZTA

Ground temperatures above 13 degrees needed to carry out work

Brady said the average ground temperatures were analysed during the planning stages, and for work to go ahead it needed be a minimum of 13 degrees.

Overnight minimum temperatures started to drop below zero across the Desert Road from March onwards, meaning the possibility of ground frosts.

“Already the area has experienced snow flurries in January and while these are rare in the summer months, there is more chance of lower temperatures from March onwards,” Brady said.

Detour in place

The detour from north to south is via SH41, SH47, SH4, SH49 and then back to SH1 in Waiouru, and adds 30 to 40 minutes to the journey.

NZTA said the speed limit near and through Ohakune would be reduced to 50km/h while the detour was in place, along with additional billboards, signage and police patrols.

The section of road south of the SH1/SH47 intersection (the “soft closure point” shown in orange on the map) to the beginning of the first worksite (south of the Tongariro National Trout Centre) would remain open for visitors to access the Trout Centre, but not SH46.

The closure of a section of Desert Road over summer will provide a welcome boost to Ruapehu businesses which have been hit with indifferent ski seasons and the mothballing of the Tongariro Chateau, its mayor says.

The New Zealand Transport Agency plans to shutdown State Highway One between Turangi and Waiouru for most of January and February to undertake major roadworks.

Ruapehu mayor Weston Kirton said up to 20,000 vehicles would be diverted to regional roads more familiar with 2000 vehicle movements a day, and take motorists through towns such as Ohakune, National Park and possibly even Taumarunui and Raetihi.

Weston Kirton, Ruapehu District Mayor

Ruapehu mayor Weston Kirton. Photo: RNZ / Angus Dreaver

“It will be tremendous for the likes of the cafeterias, dairies and other services like petrol stations, for example,” Kirton said.

“It’s been tough times for our district and to have an influx of people coming into this area will be a welcome thing to have, and we’ll certainly gear up for that. So yes, the businesses will be thriving, I’m sure.”

NZTA said the work could only be done during summer because of freezing temperatures experienced in the area during winter.

The project included rebuilding nearly 16 kilometres of road and replacing the deck of the Mangatoetoenui Bridge.

Detours were likely to take drivers around the western side of Tongariro National Park on (from north to south) SH47, SH4, SH49 and back to SH1, adding about 40 minutes to journey times.

Kirton said while inconvenient for motorists, the disruption would allow Ruapehu to highlight summer activities available there.

“It will allow us to showcase what we have to offer here in the central North Island at that time of year. You know, outdoor activities like canoeing, canoe hire, jet boating, bike rides and tramping are very big at this time of the year and also through the summer months.”

Kirton warned that drivers would need to be more careful.

“We’re talking about central North Island here and some of the roads don’t have many passing lanes, for example. There’s some hazardous areas where you have a lot of cornering, there’s a lot of hill country with ups and downs and the like.

“So it just means that people need to take more on our roads because they’re not like State Highway 1 or Transmission Gully or the Waikato Expressway. You can’t get up [to] those speeds. You shouldn’t get up to those speeds because it’s just physically impossible with the dynamics of this particular area.”

Kirton said he would be talking to NZTA to make sure the road safety message was communicated to people having to use the detours.

Meanwhile, NZTA said there would be “soft closures” at each end of the project to allow the likes of farmers, Fonterra and residents to go about their business.