Roadworks across Mid Canterbury

From NZTA: 

People who travel between Ashburton and Rangitata in Mid-Canterbury will need to build in extra time throughout April. A roading contractor has become available at short notice, hence notifying people less than a week out.

From Monday, 31 March to the end of April, a road sealing team will repair a section of highway at the intersection of Withells Road to the west and Ealing Road to the east. There will be no work over the Easter Weekend or public holidays with crews restoring the site to two lanes at midday on Thursday, 17 April.

Temporary traffic signals and Stop/Go will control traffic movements on the single available lane during daytime hours – 7 am to 6 pm. However closer to the time of surfacing Stop/Go is also likely to be implemented over night to protect the surface prior to final sealing.

Drivers of light vehicles are encouraged to take the alternative inland route between Hinds and Rangitata, SH79, to avoid having to queue. Otherwise, they may face delays of up to an hour. See map below. Northbound drivers of light vehicles are strongly encouraged to take Scenic Route 72 (the Geraldine-Arundel Road) from Winchester into Geraldine then rejoin SH1 at Hinds or further north. Drivers of heavy vehicles/ HPMV are requested to remain on SH1 given the fragile state of Scenic Route 72 due to flood damage.

Meanwhile a major road asphalting project in Ashburton, affecting night-time travel, due to start this Sunday, 30 March, will now begin Friday, 4 April. The work is due to run for five or so weeks. Weather has affected the programme and required the later start date. 

SH1 from SH77 Moore St intersection to South St will be closed from Friday night, 4 April, work happening Sunday to Friday nights. The aim is to use the Friday nights to catch up with the scheduled programme. SH1 traffic will be managed using local road detours for the first two stages, then Stop/Go for the last week, 8pm to 6am. People need to build in an extra 30 minutes after 8 pm at night and also expect short delays during the day. At this stage there are no changes to the start dates for the other sections of work. SH1 will be reopened each day at 6am, under temporary speed limits with reduced lane widths.