Road and Highway Conditions

What to expect:

Wharf Road, Colville, will be closed for large parts of the day between Tuesday 26 May and Saturday 25 July in order to carry out vital road works. From 7am to 6pm Monday to Friday, the road will be closed for up to 50 minutes every hour, with it reopening for 10 minutes on the hour. Traffic management contractors will be on the site during the working day to guide motorists. Outside of the working hours (from 6pm, overnight until 7am) the road will be open to traffic. Thank you for your understanding.

Our contractors Cerinara Trust / Roadworx will be doing some roundabout construction and road upgrade works on Joan Gaskell Drive, Whitianga.

When?
19 May – 30 July 2026

Scope of works

• New roundabout and road layout
• Kerb and channel upgrades
• New asphalt
• Stormwater improvements
• Footpaths and lighting

Night-time road closures (Sunday–Thursday)

• 9:30pm – 6:30am
• Road closures will be in place during these hours
• The road reopens during the day

Detour routes (see location below)

• To Whitianga CBD: Kupe Drive → Whitby Ave → Cook Drive
• From CBD: Cook Drive → Cholmondeley Cres → Seascape Ave → Kupe Drive

Access to businesses

• Placemakers and New World are not affected
• Woolworths and The Warehouse are closed during work hours, but delivery access is available if needed

Daytime travel
During the day, Joan Gaskell Drive will remain open with shoulder closures.

Thanks for your patience while we get these important improvements sorted.

Our contractor, Schick Civil Construction, continues to make solid progress on the Hetherington Road stormwater upgrade. As part of the project, road sealing works will be undertaken on Hetherington Road between Rutherford Road and the Port Road roundabout.

To enable these works to be completed safely and efficiently, a full road closure will be in place from 7am, Wednesday 1 July - 5pm, Thursday 2 July.

If the works are postponed due to weather or other unforeseen circumstances, they will be rescheduled to Monday 6 July – Tuesday 7 July.

Thank you for your patience as we finish these important upgrades.

See more about this project here

• Our contractor Hopper Construction will be doing site development earthworks and infrastructure upgrades for a new subdivision at 2a Pohutukawa Grove in Whitianga (the cul-de-sac end).
• This is a long-term project that is scheduled to run from 5 January to 31 August 2026, with works taking place from 6:00am to 6:00pm.
• Work will be done using a combination of shoulder closures, truck crossings and road closures, as required.
• Affected residents have been notified by letter and they will have access to their properties at all times.

Artist's impression

Enabling work to replace Tairua’s ageing one-way Pepe Bridge will start in mid May, NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA) says.

Stage 1 of the project involves the construction of a temporary footbridge to the side of the current bridge and relocation of services in the area. There will be some overnight closures of the road bridge for piling work to take place. On the following dates, the road bridge will be closed for long periods overnight from 7pm-6am:

• Tuesday 12 May - Thursday 14 May
• Monday 18 May – Thursday 21 May

The bridge will reopen for 5 minutes during these times on the hour (or 15 minutes either side) at 8pm, 9pm, 10pm, 12 midnight, 2am and 4am.

The agency says the piling work will cause some noise and vibration and apologise for any inconvenience.

Tairua Community Hall and car park is being used as the construction base and hall users are being accommodated to alternative venues around Tairua ahead of the mid May works.

Subject to consents, NZTA contractor Fulton Hogan should be starting the construction work proper in July on the new two-lane bridge and pedestrian walkway to replace the single-lane Pepe Stream Bridge on the southern side of Tairua. 

In the first stage, a temporary pedestrian bridge will be built upstream of the current single-lane bridge. Services like water, sewerage and telecoms, will be relocated to this bridge and the existing pedestrian bridge will be removed.

Fulton Hogan will build one lane of the new bridge and the shared path on the downstream (seaward) side of the old bridge. Traffic will then use the new lane while the old bridge is dismantled, creating room to build the other half of the new bridge and a footpath.

The current narrow 3-span bridge opened in 1943 - it crosses a tidal stream on SH25 south of the Tairua town centre.

The $22 million bridge replacement is being funded as part of a wider bridge programme to improve safety, efficiency and resilience on the state highway around the peninsula.

SH25 through Tairua will remain open while the new bridge is built and the old one is demolished, with occasional brief closures at night.

The new two-lane bridge is expected to be open by December 2027.

Community Liaison Group

NZTA has set up a Community Liaison Group to help keep local stakeholders informed as the project moves into construction. Attendees will be reporting back on any queries or issues raised by their memberships and communities.

Key dates ahead in 2026

• Consents granted by end of April
• Detailed design finalised by end of June
• Early works (services etc) May-July
• Subject to consents being granted, construction scheduled to start July
• Bridge completed by December 2027

Read more here

Get the latest NZTA project news for our district

State Highways are controlled by NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi. Check their website for State Highway status updates. 

With work still underway at sites along SH25, it's important that motorists drive to the conditions.

To keep contractors and road users safe, signage is in place to give advance warning of worksites and potential hazards such as slippery or uneven surfaces. Please follow any temporary speed restrictions and reduce your speed as you approach these sites.