Ironman back for 16th year

It's back and bigger than ever - this weekend's Kellogg's Nutri-Grain Ironman 2014 is set to be a good one, with 1750 athletes from over 56 countries taking part.

This is the 16th year Ironman New Zealand has held its flagship event in our district, and we encourage the community to get out and support the competitors.

We already have about 2000 volunteers from all four corners of the district helping out, so the town and surrounds will be teeming with enthusiastic people.

As a result of the thousands of athletes infiltrating the district, there will be several road closures to ensure their safety and the safety of motorists and users of public transport.

At various times between 2am and 6pm tomorrow, a number of roads will be closed. These include Tongariro Street, Story Place, Ferry Road, Tamamutu Street, Motutaiko Street, Broadlands Road and Centennial Drive. For exact times, please see the public notice.

Bus services will be modified due to the closures.

The Taupo Connector bus will not be running tomorrow and other buses will be redirected.

InterCity and Nakedbus services will drop off and collect passengers from Heuheu Street near the BP service station.

Good luck to all those involved!