The new Puhoi to Warkworth motorway project is right on schedule, and part of it will open to traffic for the first time from October.

A series of road layout changes are scheduled to take place on State Highway 1 north of the Johnstone's Hill Tunnels, at Pūhoi and in Warkworth in October. 

The most noticeable change for motorists will be over Arawhiti ki Ōkahu (the viaduct over Ōkahu Inlet). Northbound motorists will merge onto the viaduct after the Johnstones Hill Tunnels and exit at Pūhoi (before the second large viaduct, Arawhiti ki Pūhoi). Southbound motorists will drive the same route in reverse.

During October motorists will also notice work ramping up at the northern end of the motorway where it meets SH1 just north of Warkworth. 

Road layout changes will also be in place here when construction of Pukerito (the new roundabout) starts. An important landmark, particularly to the residents of Warkworth and to travellers heading to and from Matakana, Whangarei and the far north, Pukerito can be translated as ‘middle hill’ and signifies the general area as a gully between two hills. 

The multi-lane roundabout will have three exit points: north-bound (onto existing SH1), eastbound (towards Warkworth) and south-bound (entering the new motorway). Each exit point will have a slip-lane for traffic turning left.

Arawhiti Pua Ngahere – the viaduct which passes through a regenerating Kauri forest. 

Other parts of the project may tend to slow down over the wetter winter months, but the landscaping team will be working hard to make sure they plant as much as they can on motorway batters, the areas between the road and designation boundaries, and permanent stormwater ponds. Planting is carried out in winter when the ground is wet, and plants are largely dormant, allowing them get used to their new environment before the summer. 

This winter there are 650,000 plants to go into the ground, predominantly stage one ‘nursery crop’ species such as manuka and kanuka which create a shaded environment for future plants like kauri and totara.