The gateway to the north will reopen for Easter weekend, pausing crucial repairs to a section of State Highway 1 at the Brynderwyn Hills.

Waka Kotahi is temporarily opening the stretch of motorway linking Auckland to Northland from 28 March to 2 April, then it will close again until May.

Business groups earlier said the lengthy closure would be tough on Northland's economy.

Minister of Transport Simeon Brown toured the construction at the Brynderwyns Tuesday, and said "excellent progress" had been made with teams working around the clock to fix slips caused by last year's storms.

"As Kiwis start to prepare their travel plans for Easter, the government is encouraging New Zealanders to support, visit, and explore Northland as the region remains open for business," Brown said.

"We know that this route is a crucial connection to and from Northland for both people and freight, so getting it opened for the long Easter weekend has been a priority."

State Highway 1 at the Brynderwyn Hills will close again from 3 April till 13 May.

More than 300 repairs had been carried out to prepare detours around the Brynderwyn Hills. The combined 11.5km of upgrades had cost more than $5.5 million, funded by councils and central government.

This story was originally published by RNZ