SH3 Mt Messenger will be closed to both lanes of traffic between 10am and 2pm on Tuesday 13 and Wednesday 14 December for essential maintenance works.

Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency maintenance and operations manager Rob Service said a full road closure is required as crews will be working across both lanes at once.

“We appreciate that road closures are inconvenient but doing it this way means we can complete this vital work quickly and allows people to plan their travel around the closure times,” said Service.

Motorists are asked to be patient, follow all instructions of traffic management crews and signs and be kind and courteous to road workers. Emergency services on emergency/priority response will be let through the worksite during the closure times.

“Scheduled one-hour closures throughout the day were also considered but this would mean delays of up to two hours for motorists and the work would take six to eight days to complete,” he said.

Crews will be asphalting patches to improve the safety and resilience of the road. This work is weather dependent and will be rescheduled in the event of rain.

The work is part of the largest-ever state highway summer maintenance programme undertaken by Waka Kotahi. The 2022/23 programme sees the renewal of 2450 lane kilometres of state highway across New Zealand, which is approximately 10% of the network. The 2022/23 work programme includes the resealing or rebuilding of 100 lane kilometres of state highway in Taranaki.

With a number of worksites currently in place on SH3 between New Plymouth and Te Kuiti, people are strongly advised to visit journeys.nzta.govt.nz before heading off.