Today NZ Transport shared the following information regarding the uplifting of the border check points.

"With the Government announcing changes to the Auckland boundary settings from December 15, Waka Kotahi will be helping police to remove checkpoints and will be working to ensure everyone can get where they’re going safely.

On the night of December 14 southbound traffic can expect closures in place from 10pm to 1am as the boundary is removed while northbound traffic can expect stop/go traffic management in place until midnight, with the boundary removed by 1am. 

“In the days following we know that people across the country will be looking forward to re-connecting with friends and whānau ahead of the holiday period and we are expecting the roads to be very busy,” says Jacqui Hori-Hoult.

With this in mind, Waka Kotahi has decided to pause all planned maintenance and capital works involving full road closures on SH1 in Northland, Auckland and Waikato for a period of five days from Wednesday December 15 to 8pm Sunday December 19.

“In the five days before Christmas last year more than 200,000 vehicles left Auckland. We’re anticipating some of this rush to take place earlier this year, which is why Waka Kotahi wants to mitigate disruptions where possible, but road users are advised that delays will still be inevitable.”

Traffic and weather updates here: Reports