Mammoth effort to secure Nevis Bluff
Contractors for Waka Kotahi have drilled in 182 steel bolts to help secure the 13,000 tonnes schist rock Yates Feature on the Nevis Bluff.
The team worked for 14 weeks on the cliff face, at the end of Gibbston valley, in early 2022, following an increase in movement detected late in 2021. And they've just completed another 15 weeks on site.
But they're not done yet. After a break for the school holidays, they'll return on 26 April to complete the usual autumn checks.
These will result in some short travel delays.
"The travel delays will run for about three weeks from the end of April to allow the team to complete scaling and inspection work on the Bluff as a whole ahead of winter," says Robert Choveaux, Senior Network Manager, Central Otago, for Waka Kotahi.
The autumn work by Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency’s Aspiring Highways team will run between 8am and 5pm Wednesday, 26 April, to Friday, 12 May, and it is weather dependent.
"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," Choveaux adds.
"We appreciate everyone’s understanding for any delays that they may encounter and thank them for following the temporary, lowered speeds which are for their safety and the safety of our workers.”
The Nevis Bluff is about half-way between Cromwell and Queenstown – 25 minutes from Cromwell, 35 minutes from Queenstown, above the Kawarau River, on SH6.
