Two sections of road rehabilitation work on State Highway 2 will be under way soon towards Whakatāne in the Western Bay of Plenty, and road users should expect delays.

“The work will be disruptive,” says Sandra King, NZTA’s Bay of Plenty maintenance and operations systems manager, “but the benefit is that once it’s done, it will mean better driving over a new pavement surface for everyone”.

To minimise disruption to motorists, the two pieces of work are being done simultaneously.

Providing the weather is good, work starts on Monday, August 19, on a 1.2-kilometre section of SH2 between Tainui Road and Pongakawa Station Road.

The job will start with minor earthworks to remove topsoil grass off the road shoulders. Drainage and road pavement work will follow.

From Tuesday, August 27, work gets under way on a 350-metre section on SH2 at the intersection of Ōtamarākau Valley Road. Road pavement works will follow once the drainage work is complete.

Work on both sites is scheduled from Monday to Saturday each week between 6am and 6pm. During the hours of work stop/go traffic management will be in place, with reduced speed limits through the work site.

The work is expected to take about8 weeks to complete, with contractors returning at the end of March to add a second coat to the road surface before next winter.

“Even though the maintenance season does not officially start until October, contractors are gearing up early to get ahead of a hefty workload. There’s a lot to do this season and we’re planning the schedule to ensure the work can be done as efficiently as possible,” says Sandra.

“We appreciate any road work causes inconvenience, and we thank road users for their patience while we improve SH2.”