Rolling out the fresh black carpet - spring roadworks begin
Expect to see road crews and traffic managers out and about repairing and re-sealing highways and keeping road users safe around Queenstown Lakes and Central Otago from now onwards, says NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA).
"They will be working through some extremely hot conditions in coming months and appreciate people building in extra time to reduce stress when the highways are so busy, often with people unfamiliar with the local road layouts,” Peter Standring, Maintenance Contract Manager with NZTA across the two Central Otago districts, says.
Police are working closely with the work crews in an endeavour to clamp down on any dangerous behaviour around these work sites.
As well as the NZTA highway work there will also be third party private developer projects underway, which also affect highway travel. With a moratorium on all planned works over the Christmas period, traffic interruptions will be kept to an absolute minimum during this peak time.
Aspiring Highways, on behalf of NZTA, will be delivering road reconstruction and resurfacing projects across the two districts.
“As daylight hours increase, warmer temperatures and dry air help new seals settle in as intended,” Standring says.
“Overall there is around 50km of resealing which started late September. Work goes through until the pre-Christmas shut-down, then restarts 13 January through to the end of February.”
There are also three asphalt resurfacing sites covering 500 metres of highway:
- SH6 Tucker Beach, near Frankton
- SH6 Humphrey Street, Frankton
- SH84 Anderson Road, Wānaka
“Where traffic volumes are high, as they are around Queenstown/Frankton and Wānaka, we aim to minimise our impact by working at night," Standring says.
People should expect some disruptions in these locations, which will involve significant traffic management, including partial road closures.
“When we get a run of wet weather, as we have had last week, the timing of these projects will change but we will do our best to keep people informed – through social media sites, electronic signs on the highway and for people living in the vicinity, via newsletters in letterboxes,” he says.
Other places where people will see crews this summer - with short delays, (proposed dates):
- Nevis Bluff, Scrubby Gully spring scaling/rock removal: November, 2024, four to six weeks work
- SH85 Kyeburn to Alexandra: November
- SH8 Alexandra to Deadman’s Point: end of November onwards
- SH8 Lindis Pass to Cromwell: late November to mid-December
- SH8A Tarras to Wānaka: 20-22 January
- SH6 Luggate to Parkburn: 22-29 January
People should expect to see 30km/hour reduced speed signs at various sites on these sections of highway, with delays up to 10 minutes when work is underway.
Four sites up for pavement renewal are getting a full rehabilitation treatment – combined covering 4.4kms.
These major reconstruction projects, all weather dependent, include:
- SH6 Blair Athol, near Queensbury, just north of Kidd Creek – mid-September to mid-October
- SH8 Symes Road – Fruitlands, Alexandra near the Symes Road intersection - late-September to mid-December
- SH85 Thompson Creek, between Ophir Creek Road and Omakau - mid-December to end of January, 2025
- SH8 Gorge Creek, between Fruitlands and Roxburgh - early December to the end February 2025
All work is funded through the State Highway Maintenance and Pothole Prevention activity classes in the National Land Transport Programme (NLTP).
Road users with any concerns or questions around these works can contact the Aspiring Highways team at customer@aspiringhighways.co.nz
