Delays for drivers while hill corner widened
Drivers should prepare for delays over Rimutaka Hill during the next month while a tight turn is widened.
The NZ Transport Agency will widen a corner on the Featherston side, about 4kilometres below the summit of the Rimutaka Hill Road, which is part of State Highway 2.
The $250,000 project is expected to take about four weeks – depending on the weather – from March 20, including two solid weeks of earthworks that will reduce traffic to one lane controlled by mobile traffic lights.
Road Transport Association area executive Sandy Walker described it as a case of "shortterm pain for long-term gain".
The traffic lights can be adjusted to meet the changes in flows, which helps reduce the delays for people using the route.
Motorists will have one lane to get past the work site with an additional one-metre shoulder, which will allow larger trucks to pull longer trailers safely around the corner.
NZTA regional performance manager Mark Owen said the corner was one of the tighter sections of the road, so widening it would make it safer for all road users. ,
Crews would be working day and night to get it done.
‘‘We’re advising people to allow an extra five to 10 minutes or so for their journey, particularly during peak times.’’
The road will be widened by three metres at the narrowest point, requiring the removal of 2700 cubic metres of soil and rock.
Once the earthworks are complete, crews could start constructing the new road surface.
The final stage of the project is the repositioning of a new guardrail. Stop-go traffic management will still be in place but motorists will be able to drive on the new alignment.