Some motorists are facing an increased journey time over the next couple of months with the closure of State Highway 1 over the Brynderwyn Hills, which Waka Kotahi (NZTA) says is to enable "critical restoration work".
The Brynderwyn Hills has closed for another round of work after the destruction caused by Cyclone Gabrielle last year.
The highway will be closed from Monday through until March 28 but the road will re-open for six days over the Easter period. It will then close again on April 3 through to May 12.
Steve Mutton, director of regional relationships at NZTA, said the work is crucial to future-proof the road in the event of major weather occurrences.
"We're going to be digging into the hillside and moving the two lanes of road away from the vulnerable edge," he said.
"That creates a wider shoulder, allows us to respond to issues much more quickly."
The closure is set to only add about 20 minutes to a trip north for cars. Drivers can detour through Mangawhai and Waipū.
But that route isn't suitable for freight, which will likely be directed through an inland road. Heavy freight will have to drive through Dargaville, which adds another 71 kilometres to the trip.
More than 1000 trucks travel through the Brynderwyns each day and the detours are expected to be costly.
"On the shorter route, that adds about $80,000 a day to freight costs, because of the extra time," Transporting New Zealand's Dom Kalasih told Newshub on Saturday.
"If they take the longer route via Dargaville... that adds about $250,000 a day."
Murray Lane owns a cafe in Waipū just over the Brynderwyns and is worried it might take a hit.
"I actually foresee we'll be cutting staff or dropping hours at least. But in saying that, I don't know because it might be better this time, because people are prepared for it," he said.
"But we have excellent local support here, so we're lucky."
