Bridge extension project will close Quarry Road temporarily

A detour will be in place for 10 weeks from Monday 3 March as Northland Regional Council begins an important bridge extension project that will close Quarry Road in Kaitāia.

The detour will be along Donald Road. All motorists travelling to the airport will need to travel through Kaitāia and follow the detour. The detour is approximately the same distance from Kaitāia to the airport and includes 3km of gravel road on Quarry Road. Signs will be placed along the route to guide drivers, while variable message signs (VMS) will provide timely updates for travellers.

Travellers going to the airport from the north and east coast will need to allow extra travel time to travel to Kaitāia first.

Funding for the $1.3 million upgrade – which is part of the regional council’s wider multimillion dollar Awanui River Flood Protection Scheme upgrade – comes from the Government’s Regional Infrastructure Fund for consented priority flood resilience projects that will protect land and assets during severe weather.

The work will fix a ‘pinch point’ in the flood scheme and will take place in two phases. The first section of the work will allow for earthworks underneath a proposed 15-metre extension of the bridge – which will open an additional 12-metre span.

The extra span on the bridge will reduce the risk of flooding to surrounding houses and Awanui township.

A second section of work will involve the construction of the bridge extension and associated works.