The New Zealand Transport Agency says it is "impossible to predict" how much of Queenstown's busiest road will be resurfaced, after a three-week delay was caused by poor weather, an equipment hold-up and mechanical failures.
The agency had expected the critical $700,000 resurfacing project on 4km of Frankton Rd to be finished late this month.
However, a problem with a job in Dunedin meant contractor Downer could not use its slurry machine for three weeks and it was prone to breaking down when it arrived on site, agency project manager John Jarvis, of the Dunedin regional office, said.
The agency intended to finish the 2.5km of resurfacing between Yewlett Cres and Goldfield Heights by the middle of next week.
However, resurfacing the 1.5km stretch from Goldfield Heights to Spinnaker Bay, as planned, was now weather-, temperature- and time-dependant, Mr Jarvis said.
"There have been a few delays to this job. It's taking longer than planned. We're focusing on getting as much done as quickly as possible, while maintaining safety.
"If we don't get it finished before winter, we'll have to come back in springtime."
If completion was delayed, the most broken areas on the remaining 1.5km would be tidily patched.
Traffic islands would be reinstated before winter.
"We've maintained a two-way flow during daytime and that was our objective, to minimise disruption to the motorist as much as we can," Mr Jarvis said.
Frankton Rd is one of the busiest roads in Otago, carrying an average of 16,500 vehicles each day, according to agency traffic counts for 2009.
