State Highway 29 pver the Kaimai Range will be closed for five nights later this month.

The closure is scheduled to take place from Sunday, May 19, to Wednesday, May 22, from 8pm to 3.30am each night. 

The closures are needed to undertake asphalt renewals and other routine maintenance activities such as clearing drains, sign maintenance and road marking.

“This will result in a smoother, safer road for motorists and the full closure approach is safer for both crews and road users,” says Roger Brady, NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi Regional Manager Maintenance and Operations, Waikato/Bay of Plenty. 

SH29 is a critical route, providing the key link between the country’s largest port and the ‘Golden Triangle, says Roger/

“Around 14,000 vehicles use this road every day, including several thousand heavy vehicles.

“It is critical to maintain SH29 to ensure the route is safe and accessible for all road users.  

“We’ve collaborated with freight operators and roading contractors to confirm days and times that work best for everybody. By locking in a schedule, regular road users including freight operators, can make plans to minimise the disruption to themselves and their customers.”  

The detours for this closure are significant and will add considerable time to journeys, says NZTA.

People are encouraged to check the NZTA Journey Planner journeys.nzta.govt.nz/traffic and allow extra time for their journey, or if possible, delay travel over SH29 on these nights.   

“This closure is the second in our series of closures for the corridor. So far, the approach has worked well, and we've had good feedback.   

“We’d like to thank our stakeholders and partners for working with us on this. While disruptive in the short term, everyone will enjoy the benefits of having a more reliable and safer route over the Kaimai Range.”  

The closure points on the western (Waikato) side are at the SH29/24 and SH29/28 intersections and on the eastern (BOP) side at the SH29/Cambridge Road intersection.

Emergency services will have access at all times, and residents can access their property from the relevant side of the closure. 

The timetable of works below is current at the time of publication. 

Alternative routes 

• South: all vehicles: SH28, SH5, SH30, SH33, SH2 via Rotorua  
• South: light vehicles: SH28, SH5, SH36 via Rotorua  
• North: SH24, SH27, SH26, SH2 via Karangahake Gorge   

To minimise disruption to the community, the SH29 Tauriko Enabling Works project crew is installing semi-permanent guardrails and barriers during the planned closures. 

From Sunday 19 May to Thursday 23 May, from 8pm to 5am (approx.) each night there will be works in the SH29/Redwood Lane area to install semi-permanent traffic management for the Tauriko Enabling Works project. There will be stop/go in place and a temporary speed limit of 30km/h on State Highway 29 (between south of Belk Road and north of Redwood Lane), and on Redwood Lane and Belk Road at the intersection with SH29. Access to Redwood Lane and Belk Road will remain open for the duration of the works. This work is weather dependent.  

Detour Map