On Easter Monday (6 April 2026) between midnight and 5am, heavy vehicles will not be able to travel north on State Highway 1 (SH1) after the Auckland Harbour Bridge.

Electronic signage will instruct heavies to take State Highway 16 (SH16) and State Highway 18 (SH18) Western Ring Route, while we remove a sign gantry on the north end of the bridge by Stafford Road.

Preparing the gantry for removal will begin on Easter Sunday (5 April) at 10pm, and to reduce disruption there will lane restrictions until midnight. From midnight until 5am we will need to put in a full northbound closure between Stafford Road and Onewa Road to create a safe working environment for the gantry to be removed by a specialised crane. 

When the full closure is in place, light vehicles will be detoured along Stafford Road, Queenstown Road and Onewa Road.

This detour is not suitable for heavy vehicles due to the sharp corner at the bottom of Stafford Road. We will be actively managing traffic to make sure only light vehicles enter the detour. 

Heavy vehicles will need to take SH16 (Exit 428) and follow the Western Ring Route via SH16 and SH18, where they will be able to rejoin SH1 at Constellation Drive.

Any heavy vehicles who miss the link for the Western Ring Route will be assisted on to SH1 southbound, where they can travel south to the SH16 link. This will add extra distance and time to your journey.

The gantry is being removed because it is aging, and is no longer required given the proximity of other gantries carrying the same wayfinding information nearby.

We appreciate that the Auckland Harbour Bridge is a critical route for travel and have chosen a time when traffic volumes are lower than normal to minimise disruption. We will be working quickly to remove the gantry and reopen the northbound lanes. 

This work is weather dependent, particularly from wind speeds, and may be postponed if the conditions make the removal unsafe.