There's disappointment among some as State Highway 1 in the Central North Island will be closed for repairs for two months.
The Desert Road is closing between Turangi and Waiouru from January 6 until the end of February.
The detour will add half an hour and an extra 50 kilometres to journeys.
NZTA's Roger Brady says the approach is well-planned - and the closure lets them squeeze in four months' worth of work into two.
"So instead of having a long, drawn-out, ongoing inconvenience - yes, it's going to be inconvenient, but there'll be a limit to the inconvenience to two months."
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