Work to complete the new slow vehicle bay on State Highway 2 (SH2) at Kotemaori in northern Hawke’s Bay will start next week.

The new 260 metre slow vehicle bay on SH2, near the intersection with Kakariki Farm Road, will provide another place for road users to safely pass slow vehicles as they head north to Wairoa.

Crews have been waiting for warmer weather to complete the work, which includes laying the final seal on the road.

The work is expected to take 2 weeks and crews will begin on site from next Monday (30 September). During this time, temporary traffic management will be in place through this site with stop/go and a temporary reduced speed limit of 30km/h.

Delays of no more than 10 minutes are expected.

Once crews have finished this work, the slow vehicle bay will be operational. The work is weather dependent and there could be delays if conditions are too cold or wet.

Background

This work is part of Connecting Tairāwhiti, which is a programme of projects providing more slow vehicle bays and more places to pull off the road safely to check messages or take a break on State Highways 2 and 35 across the Tairāwhiti and northern Hawke’s Bay regions. The programme also includes some resilience projects to strengthen and stabilise sites on State Highway 35 to help it remain open and functional during disruptions such as weather events.

A slow vehicle bay is a widened stretch of road on an uphill incline that allows slow, heavy vehicles, such as trucks and buses, to pull over as they slow down – allowing other vehicles to pass.

As part of this project, NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi has also made safety improvements to Kotemaori School’s access on SH2, including a safe right-turn bay to access the school.

Plan ahead for a safe, enjoyable journey. Keep up to date with:

• Traffic updates: journeys.nzta.govt.nz/traffic
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nztahbg
• X: https://x.com/nztacni
• Journey planner: journeys.nzta.govt.nz
• Phone: 0800 4 HIGHWAYS (0800 44 44 49)

26 September 2024

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