SH1 from Wellington to Johnsonville will be closed for two nights. Photo: RNZ / Dom Thomas
Main roads in and out of the capital will be cut off this week and next, due to a number of maintenance-related road closures.
Wellington road users will need to start "planning ahead", and take back roads, NZTA has said.
State Highway 1 - Wellington to Johnsonville
The highway's southbound lanes will be closed for two nights - Sunday, 2 February and Monday, 3 February, between 9pm and 4.30am.
Wellington Transport Alliance manager Roxanne Hilliard said the middle lane of the highway must be resurfaced.
Detours were available - light vehicles should take the Johnsonville southbound offramp and detour to the city via Johnsonville, Khandallah, and the Ngaio Gorge.
Those travelling to the Hutt from SH1 would need to take the SH58 detour via Transmission Gully, but this was not suitable for heavy vehicles because of a height restriction on the Johnsonville underpass.
Heavy vehicles must use SH58 to Haywards Hill and then State Highway 2 to get to the city.
"These detours are longer, so drivers should allow for extra travel time," Hilliard said.
State Highway 1/Urban Motorway - Wellington to Hutt
Wellington's urban motorway will be closed to northbound traffic overnight between Karo Drive and Ngauranga Interchange for road resurfacing, for the five nights between Sunday 9 February and Thursday 13 February.
All northbound on and off ramps will also be closed.
Drivers should detour along, Willis St, Customhouse/Waterloo/Aotea Quay, and then Hutt Rd.
In the city, the motorway will be closed to southbound traffic between the Terrace offramp and Vivian St as the Terrace tunnel undergoes its annual building warrant of fitness.
The detour is via The Terrace offramp and Ghuznee/Victoria/Vivian Streets.
Hilliard said "over 30,000 vehicles use this section of State Highway 1 daily, so it's crucial that it's regularly maintained".
"Crews will resurface around five lane kilometres of the northbound lanes between Aotea Quay onramp and the Ngauranga Interchange," she said.
"Since December, around 2.5 lane kilometres of this section of highway has already been resurfaced and we still need to resurface a further 2.5 lane kilometres this season.
"These resurfacing works will make this stretch of road much smoother and safer as it is currently in poor condition."
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