Night time work on SH1 in the Dome Valley

Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency advises motorists there will be night works on State Highway 1 (SH1) north of Warkworth over the next six weeks to lay cable ducting in a roadside trench.

The work is being carried out for a utility company at the same time as a staged safety upgrade of SH1 in the Dome Valley. New safety improvements include widening the centre line and road side shoulders, adding right hand turn bays and installing flexible road safety barriers.

The duct-laying work will take place between Forestry Road and Waiwhiu Road, Monday to Thursday nights from 7pm to 5am. There will be stop/go traffic management with the road reduced to one lane, says Senior Manager Project Delivery Andrew Thackwray.

“During the work, our team will temporarily stop traffic to ensure the safety of the work crews and road users. We will be monitoring the queues and minimising wait times as much as possible.”

“The Transport Agency apologises for any inconvenience and advises road users to plan ahead and allow extra time for their journeys. The work is being done at night to minimise disruption for freight movements and the travelling public.”

“Each night the road crew will dig a trench on the northbound side of the road about 45 metres long and lay 15 metre lengths of ducting. They then fill in the trench and reinstate the road to a safe condition before it’s opened to daytime traffic.”

Road crews will maintain physical distancing and use additional protective clothing in line with Covid-19 health and safety protocols.

The Dome Valley safety improvements project started in early-2019 and is expected to be completed in late-2021. The work is split into five stages along the 15km section of SH1 from Wellsford to north of Warkworth, with two stages currently under construction and due to be completed later this year.

The newly-installed cable ducts with a sub-soil drain to help remove water from the trench so it doesn’t affect the current or thermal resistance of the cables.