Nevis Bluff works ready to rock
Waka Kotahi's Nevis Bluff spring / summer rockfall scaling programme will get underway on Monday.
The scaling occurs every autumn and spring with abseilers, suspended on ropes, inspecting the rocky face and removing loosened rocks that are hazardous to highway users, above SH6 between Cromwell and Queenstown.
Workers high above SH6 on the Nevis Bluff
"People should be ready for delays up to about ten minutes and allow some extra travel time for journeys between Cromwell and Queenstown,” Peter Standring, NZTA Maintenance and Contract Manager in Central Otago, says.
The work is scheduled to take place over three weeks from Monday, 11 November, through to Friday, 29 November, 8am to 5pm weekdays, subject to weather conditions.
Motorists are advised to build in extra time of about 10 minutes as delays will be inevitable while the work is carried out.
"We know these delays can be frustrating, but we’re asking people to be patient and to understand that they are necessary to ensure the safety of road users, which is our number one concern," Standring says.
Abseilers working over the rocky schist faces aim to release rock, loosened by the freezing and thawing winter conditions, in a controlled way when there is no traffic on the highway.
The Nevis Bluff is about half-way between Cromwell and Queenstown – 25 minutes from Cromwell, 35 minutes from Queenstown.
Work on the cycle trail, currently under construction, will be paused for a few days while the abseilers are overhead.
