Expressway: the opening that wasn’t

Don’t let the opening ceremony fool you – you’ll have to wait a bit longer to drive on the Huntly section of the Waikato Expressway.

There has been an official opening and completion events for the new $384 million stretch of road, but it is neither open nor (quite) complete.

The Waikato Times reported the exciting step of another building block in the Waikato Expressway, leading with ‘‘Huntly bypass opens’’ in our Valentine’s Day edition. The next day’s article laid out a more complicated reality.

The road had been officially opened by Transport Minister Phil Twyford and King Tuheitia Po¯ tatau Te Wherowhero VII, and there were spiritual cleansing and blessings.

A half marathon was held on the surface and the public bussed over it for tours. But the road needed some finishing touches before traffic could get on. That included the installation of a piece of wire median barrier and another section of asphalt, Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency said.

So when can traffic use it? ‘‘We expect people will use the Huntly section of the expressway within the next month,’’ a statement from portfolio manager Darryl Coalter said.

The agency won’t give any more specifics to avoid queues of people keen to be among the first to put wheels on the road. The project is ahead of schedule, Coalter said, but dates for completion events were chosen months in advance ‘‘and not necessarily to coincide with completion of final works’’.