The summer roading construction season is set to begin in Southland, causing significant disruption to road users.

Highways South, on behalf of Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency, will be delivering road reconstruction and resurfacing projects from October until mid-April as daylight hours increase, and the warmer temperatures and dry air help new seals stick as intended to the road surface.

Major construction and resurfacing work is not advisable in Southland between May and October due to the cooler temperatures, Waka Kotahi said.

More than 90 single lane kilometres of state highway in Southland will be resurfaced and another 10 lane kilometres fully reconstructed before May 2023.

“Some of these reconstruction projects will be significantly disruptive to road users due to the length of construction and the traffic management required to keep crew and road users safe,” said Justin Reid, maintenance contract manager for Waka Kotahi in Southland.

Reconstruction projects, all weather dependent, include SH6 Josephville Hill, early to late October; SH1Dacre, early October until mid-November; SH6 Lowther, mid-October until late November; SH94, Croydon, mid-October until early December; and SH98, Lorneville, early November until mid-December.

Three of the planned asphalt resurfacing projects early in 2023 will also cause disruption to road users due to their location and will involve significant traffic management, including partial road closures at SH6/North Road, Invercargill on the southern approach to Lorneville roundabout; SH6/98/99 Lorneville roundabout, Invercargill; and SH6 Winton township.

“Some of the other resurfacing work will be done overnight to minimise delays  for customers on roads with high traffic volumes,” said Reid.

“We will stop work before major holiday travel periods like Christmas and New Year to minimise disruption to people’s journeys,”