Construction has started on the second Commercial Vehicle Safety Centre north of Rakaia.

The southbound centre opened earlier this winter and is being operated by the Police.

The northbound centre will be on the corner of State Highway 1 and Weavers Road and is due to be completed late in 2025.

NZTA programme manager Sean Bridge said the location will also include an 60kph intersection speed zone on SH1 when a vehicle is approaching from Weavers Road

“This will give drivers exiting the northbound site more time to make their turn safely.”

The work to install the speed zone will require some disruption to traffic around the site from the end of September for about two months, he said.

Traffic will be detoured onto North Rakaia Road and South Two Chain Road to access Weavers Road, rather than direct from SH1.

There may also be shoulder closures on both sides of Weavers Road and on SH1 as this work develops with a lower speed limit posted around the site.

NZTA said the southbound centre has been running smoothly since it opened earlier this year.

On the first day of operation, Police issued one driver’s truck a pink sticker indicating it was not fit to be on the road.

In July, close to 700 vehicles were screened daily, around one heavy vehicle every two minutes.

Of more than 21,000 heavy vehicles screened at Rakaia in July, 1493 were found to be potentially non-compliant.