Northland's rolling out the welcome mat as the quickest route from Auckland opens for the long weekend

State Highway One over the Brynderwyn Hills closed at the end of February for upgrades after storm damage.

It's opening on Thursday for six days over Easter -- before shutting again through until mid-May for the rest of the work to be completed.

Whangarei Mayor Vince Cocurullo says the region's tourism businesses will be open and ready.

He says they're hoping for a good influx of people coming north, but at the same time it allows Northlanders to go down to Auckland.