State highways from the Waitaki River to the Gore District boundary will be resealed and repaired, while work to stabilise the Nevis Bluff on SH6 in Central Otago starts next week.
Waka Kotahi New Zealand Transport Agency Central Otago maintenance contract manager Jennifer McLean said people should add an extra 20 minutes to their expected journey time as the work ran until about March-April.
Allocating spare time would "help ease the pressure on everyone and reduce the temptation to make up time if there is a short delay on key routes."
She reminded people to take care around crews and slow to the limit.
"Patience and a friendly wave makes all the difference to them, given they work in all weathers, often in quite remote spots."
Slowing down would also help protect the new seal.
As daylight hours increased the warmer temperatures and dry air helped new seal stick as intended to the road. About 135km of lane was being fully resealed.
The highways would be as free of work and crews as possible around Christmas and the New Year holiday period, when most traffic was on the roads.
Resurfacing work would continue from mid-January.
Work to stabilise Nevis Bluff
Waka Kotahi's spring safety programme at the Nevis Bluff on State Highway 6 begins next week.
The Nevis Bluff is about half-way between Cromwell and Queenstown - 25 minutes from Cromwell and 35 minutes from Queenstown, above the Kawarau River.
People travelling between the towns would need to allow for short delays of up to 10 minutes at a time on weekdays from next Monday, Waka Kotahi Central Otago Senior Network Manager Robert Choveaux says.
Road users could expect delays for about three weeks as the Aspiring Highways team carried out routine spring abseil maintenance and inspections.
“The Nevis Bluff is a site we regularly inspect, monitor and stabilise as part of our commitment to provide a safe, accessible highway network. The best time to do this work is the shoulder seasons in autumn and spring when traffic volumes are at their lowest," Mr Choveaux said.
“People stopped in their cars may be able to see abseilers inspecting and removing loose rock on the Nevis Bluff rock face. We need to ensure the road below is clear when rocks are being dropped or loosened.”
The safety programme would run on weekdays, 8am to 5pm, from Monday, November 7 to Friday, November 25.
Meanwhile, work to stabilise the 13,000-tonne rock mass on Nevis Bluff, known as the Yates Feature, would continue until at least January 2023.
Summer state highway work
Reconstruction sites
SH8 Burma Rd intersection, part of the Manuka Gorge Highway, inland from Milton - starting mid-late November.
SH1 Landon Creek, north of Oamaru - starting December.
SH1 Bushey, north of Palmerston - starting February.
SH1 Riccarton Rd, East Taieri, south of Dunedin - starting February-March.
SH88 the road to Port Chalmers, Ravensbourne Rd from the Parry St roundabout - starting April.
SH1 resurfacing work sites
The Deborah Underpass, Oamaru-November.
Balclutha bridge approach - November.
Andersons Bay Rd intersection in Dunedin, where the Southern Motorway meets the one-way street pair through the city - January.
The Southern Motorway leaving Dunedin, at Abbotsford - February.
- Staff reporter and ODT Online
