Kāeo Bridge officially open while critical repair works begin on SH1 Brynderwyn Hills

Kaeo Bridge, new zealand, Northland, SH1 Brynderwyn Hills,

February 27, 2024

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The new State Highway 10 Kāeo Bridge is officially open to traffic, while critical repair works for the SH1 Brynderwyn Hills in Northland begin.

Transport Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed the official opening of the new State Highway 10 (SH10) Kāeo Bridge, which will improve safety and traffic flow for people heading to and from the Far North.

“This is an important piece of infrastructure for the Northland region that will help members of the local community, tourists, and freight vehicles, get to where they need to go, safely and efficiently.”

The Kāeo Bridge had been opened in a reduced capacity to allow one-way traffic earlier this month, just in time for the busy Waitangi weekend. Now the bridge is fully open to two-lane traffic in time for the Easter break.

“Every day 5,000 vehicles use this route, including around 350 freight trucks. During the summer peak, numbers can more than double to over 10,000 vehicles. It will be a welcome relief to motorists to have the new bridge open, and I want to congratulate NZTA and the local Fulton Hogan construction team for completing it two months ahead of schedule.”

The new design, with two lanes and a roundabout at the intersection of State Highway 10 and Whangaroa Road, will make it safer and easier to travel through the intersection and over the bridge, as well as improving traffic flow.

“We have heard from the local community that the old single-lane bridge and intersection was dangerous and that there was a serious risk of flooding in Kāeo, even before the extreme weather events of 2023.

“At 110 metres long, the new bridge is over twice the length of the previous bridge. This will allow for a larger volume of water to move underneath it, increasing transport resilience in the region.”

Remaining work to remove the old bridge and undertake associated maintenance is expected to be fully completed by April.

Northland open for business as critical works to repair SH1 Brynderwyn Hills begin

The Government is encouraging New Zealanders to support, visit, and explore Northland, as the closure and detour of SH1 at the Bryderwyn Hills begins, and critical repair work by the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) gets underway, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says.

“Many regions across the country suffered extensive and devastating damage from Cyclone Gabrielle, the Auckland Anniversary floods, and Cyclone Hale. Those weather events caused severe under and over-slips on SH1 at the Bryderwyn Hills and NZTA need to get in there to ensure final repairs can be completed,” Mr Brown says.

The planned closures of SH1 Brynderwyn Hills will run from 26 February to 27 March, open from 28 March to 2 April for the Easter period, then close again from 3 April to 13 May.

“Full closures are never done lightly. We know they are incredibly disruptive and frustrating for local communities, businesses, drivers, and freight vehicles. But this repair work is critical to ensure the corridor is resilient to future events in the short to medium-term, while the Government prioritises planning for the long-term future alternative route in line with the National-NZ First Coalition agreement.

“NZTA will be working hard to complete these repair works as quickly and safely as possible, with crews working day and night, seven days a week. They’ll also be utilising key staff from the highly successful SH25a project, to ensure lessons learnt there are put into practice and help minimise the length of disruption.

“While these repair works get underway, we’re reminding everyone that Northland is open for business, and we encourage all New Zealanders to visit and explore everything that the beautiful Northland region has to offer.

“NZTA is supporting Northland’s Economic Development Agency, Northland Inc., with a targeted campaign to ensure their ‘open for business’ message gets out as far and wide as possible.

“Local businesses are encouraged to get in touch and partner with Northland Inc. to collaborate on joint promotions, events, or marketing activities that amplify the campaign messages.”

The campaign will run throughout the duration of the SH1 Brynderwyn Hills closure works from February to May 2024.

Source (1): Crown copyright.

Source (2): Crown copyright.