Paekākāriki Hill Road to close ahead of Labour Weekend

Wednesday, 17 October 2018

Holidaymakers will find an alternative route out of Wellington closed this Friday. 

Paekākāriki Hill Road – the alternative route between the Kāpiti Coast and Porirua – will be off limits to motorists in an attempt to keep them safe.

Starting at midday, the road will be blocked by traffic supervisors at the lookout near the top of the hill and northbound vehicles will be turned back.

The closure will  finish at 9pm or when traffic eases on State Highway 1.

**READ MORE:

* Labour Weekend traffic causes havoc 

* Taking the slow road out of town

* Trucked wedged at bottom of Paekakariki Hill**

The steep road north of Wellington joins SH1 at Paekākāriki, a peak traffic snarl point that can see lengthy delays and has seen multiple serious accidents.

An NZ Transport Agency spokeswoman said the extra traffic using the road on Friday were at a higher risk of accidents, both on the steep, winding road and when merging on State Highway 1.

Drivers using the road as a shortcut caused significant delays for southbound and northbound highway traffic on SH1, she said.

Residents and others working or visiting properties on the hill road would be able to enter from either the State Highway 1 intersection or from Pauatahanui.

However, if leaving a property on the hill road, they cannot exit onto State Highway 1 at Paekākāriki and should use an alternate route such as Grays Road at Pauatahanui.

Emergency services will have full access to the road and if there is an emergency on the state highway, the closure will be lifted and the road used as a detour.

Depending on the outcome, the half-day closure to through traffic on Paekākāriki Hill Road will be considered for future use, the agency said.