Forecast rain has forced NZTA to postpone a four-day closure of the Awakino Gorge for culvert replacement work.
The closure was originally planned for this Saturday 22 August until Tuesday 25 August, however the work is now set to begin at 6am on Saturday 29 August through to 6pm on Tuesday 1 September.
NZTA said in a statement that the project requires fine weather to be completed successfully.
"To install the culverts, road workers need to excavate the road, install the drainage structures, reinstate the road surface and complete asphalting before the road can safely reopen," the agency said.
Because of the sheer scale of the disruption, NZTA said they made the call early to give freight operators, local communities, and emergency services time to adjust their schedules.
"Even if conditions improve over the weekend, the closure will not be able to go ahead at short notice," NZTA said.
This project involves installing multiple drainage culverts at a major slip site caused by severe weather in April. These new structures will direct water away from the slip and into the Awakino River.
Completing this drainage work is a vital step toward eventually restoring the highway to two lanes.
During the new closure period, the site will be shut down 24 hours a day. The closed section stretches from the rest area near the Awakino Historic Tunnel to the Manganui Road intersection.
There will be no scheduled openings and no vehicle access through the worksite, including for emergency services. Traffic heading north from North Taranaki will need to detour via State Highway 1 and State Highway 4.
If the weather turns sour again next weekend, NZTA has a backup window planned from Thursday 3 September to Sunday 6 September.
Until then, State Highway 3 remains open under stop/go traffic management with a single lane operating.
