Motorists are advised to plan head to avoid delays of up to one hour if travelling on State Highway 3 over Mt Messenger on Monday 12 and Tuesday 13 October.

SH3 will be closed at the base of Mt Messenger on either side for one hour on alternating hours between 8.30am and 5.30pm for two days while essential maintenance work, such as drain and slip clearing, and asphalt paving repairs, is undertaken. 

NZTA Taranaki system manager Ross I‘Anson appreciates the road closures will cause inconvenience and thanks motorists in advance for their patience.

“Unfortunately, there is no way to get traffic safely through the site while our crews are on the ground due to the narrow, constrained environment on Mt Messenger, so the road closures are essential. 

“SH3 is a key route, linking the Waikato and Taranaki. With no viable alternative route for a lot of traffic, it‘s essential we maintain the road over Mt Messenger to ensure its safety and avoid issues that could result in longer road closures in the future.

“We have scheduled the works for Monday and Tuesday when traffic volumes are traditionally lowest and will have three crews working at once to get the work done as quickly as possible.”

“When the road is open, there will be contraflow traffic management in place while traffic moves through in both directions with temporary speed limits in some locations.

Motorists are encouraged to time their journeys to avoid queuing for up to one hour. Toilet facilities and water will be available at either end of the road closures for motorists waiting in the queue. 

Traffic through the Awakino Tunnel Bypass project site will also be managed to ensure the free flow of traffic moving north.

In the event of unsuitable weather, work will be postponed to Wednesday 14 and Thursday 15 October. Before travelling, please visit the NZTA Journey Planner website for updates.

Journey Planner – https://www.journeys.nzta.govt.nz

The road closure times will be as follows: