The NZ Transport Agency is reporting road works in the Bay of Plenty and Waikato are hitting a high gear.

Works were deferred last year to make sure traffic flowed smoothly during the Rugby World Cup and during the extended period of bad weather.

The NZTA is making up for lost time and is aiming to complete a number of road maintenance projects before winter.

NZTA Waikato/Bay of Plenty state highway manager Kaye Clark says the Waikato and Bay of Plenty regions (which includes the Coromandel) contain over 2600km of state highway and several of these roads carry some of the highest traffic loads in the country.

'Each year the NZTA carries out about 45km of road construction and around 300km of resealing in these two regions.

'Staying on track with our works programmes when weather conditions are good allows us to get the most effective results and the best value from our repairs and construction work.

'This also ensures our roads' accessibility and safety are maintained year-round for road users.”

She says they recognise the frustration some road users may feel if they experience traffic queues, detours or delays as a result of our activities.

Kaye says the NZTA is often asked about the reasons behind the timing of its road works. 'People want to know ‘why we don't wait until later in the year away from peak summer holiday times?'

'The answer is that wet or cold conditions can decrease the durability of our repair or construction work – for example, reducing how long a resealing repair will last.

'People also ask us ‘why don't we work overnight or on weekends instead?'

'From time to time we do work at night and on weekends.”

She says they usually do this where the road works are needed on roads with very high traffic volumes, as carrying out these activities during normal work hours on weekdays would cause untenable congestion and unreasonable delays.

The NZTA is expecting to keep delays to a minimum.

'However, in some locations traffic flow through or away from the works area needs to be managed carefully to maximise the safety of road users and the work crews while work is underway.

'In some cases this involves ‘stop' and ‘go' signs to let people through in intervals; a detour being put in place; or in rare cases, a road closure.

'We'd ask that people be patient when delays do occur and remember that these works are vital to ensure our roads remain safe for them to use.”