Contractors have started the second stage of repairs on the Clydevale bridge.
Late last year the contract to repair the bridge's piles was awarded to Fulton Hogan Ltd for $374,847.
Clutha District Council communications co-ordinator Jamie Shaw said contractors began preparing the site on Monday. The project was expected to start in early March, when river conditions were generally most favourable, Mr Shaw said.
Repairs were expected to take around six weeks. Motorists could face delays of up to 30 minutes between 7am and 6pm, Monday to Saturday.
''However, the nature of the work means that there won't be lengthy full road/bridge closures as there were during last year's deck and beam upgrade.''
Contractors would be ''doing what they can'' to minimise traffic delays, Mr Shaw said.
The main job is to place concrete grout around one set of piles. The bridge reopened last September after two months of strengthening work and lengthy detours for motorists.
Work to strengthen the bridge to class 1 standard, restoring it to full heavy vehicle capacity, began in mid-July.
The Clydevale bridge spans the Clutha River about 22km northwest of Balclutha. It is a key transport route, as some oversized loads cannot be taken over the Balclutha bridge.
