Motorists are worried traffic hold-ups between Napier and Hastings will reach some of the extremes of the post-cyclone years, with simultaneous delays on three bridges between the cities.

Affected are state highway network bridges at Waitangi, on SH51 between Awatoto and Clive, on the Hawke’s Bay Expressway (SH2) near Taradale, and Hastings District Council’s alternative route, the Chesterhope Bridge.

National highways management agency NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA) and contractors have programmed closures and stop-go management for off-peak times.

The problems were obvious today, with northbound SH51 traffic banked-up by late in the morning with the Waitangi Bridge between Clive and Awatoto restricted to one-way traffic.

Stop-go management is in place on the bridge between 9am and 3pm on weekdays until February 13.

Motorists choosing to avoid the area will mainly use the Hawke’s Bay Expressway, on which new bridge work near Taradale, expected to start on Wednesday, will result in stoppages of 10-20 minutes in each direction on the existing bridge.

The Taradale work, as part of the SH2 Hawke’s Bay Expressway four-laning project, had been scheduled for earlier this month but was delayed by the late delivery of pile casings.

Crews will be working Monday to Friday in the off-peak times, between 10am and 2pm only, and possibly occasionally on Saturdays, lifting the large steel casings into place for cement to be poured into them.

A statement says up to four lifts will be done every day during the off-peak work period and, on each occasion, traffic will be stopped in both directions.

Delays of between 10 and 20 minutes can be expected while the lifts happen and the traffic queues are cleared, with temporary traffic management applying to 80 metres on both approaches.

During the work, a large crane will lift steel piles up to 36m-long into position and, to keep everyone safe, traffic must be stopped until the pile is secure, the NZTA statement said.

The work is expected to be completed by July, but other work will continue to the west of the existing bridge.

The Taradale bridge also has overnight 8pm-5am stop-go management on Tuesday and Wednesday nights this week for flexible median barrier removal and road resurfacing, which had been delayed because of last week’s weather.

There will also be overnight closures at the SH2-Taradale Rd roundabout, starting on February 3, for flexible median barrier removal, temporary paving, line marking and installation of a temporary safety barrier.

Unrelated maintenance and cleaning on the Chesterhope Bridge means it is closed until Thursday for northbound traffic, which was being diverted on Farndon Rd to the Waitangi Bridge.

Havelock motorist Andrew Fulford was on his way to an appointment when he encountered the traffic detoured from Pākōwhai Rd merging with northbound SH51 traffic at Farndon Rd, bringing traffic to a stop.

“It was a bit of a mess,” he said.

It then took a half-hour to reach Waitangi Bridge, and Fulford was thus late for the appointment.

It was not as bad on the return trip, but he said it “smacks of incompetence” to have all three routes impacted at the same time.

Another Havelock North motorist had chosen the Chesterhope route to avoid the delays, but found himself being rerouted into what became an even bigger delay as traffic banked up on Farndon Rd.

NZTA principal project manager Jacob Laird, asked initially about issues with possible motorist “rubbernecking” around the Taradale bridge site, said the expressway delays would be limited to no more than four each day, around the time of each lift.

“It’s crucial everyone has a safe journey and, as in every situation on the road, behind the steering wheel, it’s critical that people always concentrate on the road ahead,” he said.

“We have installed temporary steel barriers to separate the northbound lane from the work and provide a form of visual barrier.” Anticipating this work would create interest, NZTA has also put a temporary lower speed of 70km/h in place.

NZTA would monitor traffic flow during construction and adjust temporary traffic management as required, he said.

The agency understood the timing was likely to cause some disruption over the next fortnight with daytime work also on the Waitangi Bridge and this week’s work at Chesterhope.

Doug Laing is a Hawke’s Bay Today reporter based in Napier, with more than 50 years’ experience in the news industry – most of it in Hawke’s Bay, covering most aspects of local and regional news.