Highway closed for two weeks

A STRETCH of state highway at the northern end of Pirongia Village is expected to be shut to all traffic for another week while Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency completes stage two of road repairs.

The section of SH39 being worked on, between Mangapiko Bridge and Beechey St, is to rebuild the road.

But because the area is too narrow near the bridge to allow traffic to flow alongside the machinery at work, Waka Kotahi had to schedule a two-week closure of the highway, system manager for Waikato Cara Lauder said.

The road has been closed for about a week already.

The work is being done as part of the agency’s summer renewals programme and one section between Kane and Beechey streets has already been completed.

Current work involves minor drainage and guardrail work, Cara said.

A detour in place added about 10-20 minutes on to travel time in each direction, depending on where people were heading, Cara said, and required motorists to travel to the edge of Te Awamutu, where Pirongia Rd meets Paterangi Rd.

The detour for people travelling north through the area is along Beechey St until it becomes Pirongia Rd, then Alexandra St.

Turn onto Paterangi Rd and follow it until it becomes Meadway Rd, to then re-join SH39.

About halfway along Pirongia Rd is Bowman Rd, but Cara said a single lane bridge meant it was not an option for the detour route.

“As part of our planning process we engaged with Waipā District Council regarding the detour route, as it uses roads they manage, and they requested that Bowman Rd not be used due to the single lane bridge over the Mangipiko Stream posing a safety risk if higher traffic volumes used this road.”