The end of the school holidays’ first week brings good news for Haast Pass road users for this weekend and a warning for the wider South Island, says Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency.
South and Mid-Canterbury road users will start to notice more road crews and busy work sites from early October as the highway maintenance programme kicks off for another summer season. Pre-reseal repairs are underway at present, one highway area at a time.
The Lewis Pass, SH7, linking the West Coast and Canterbury via Springs Junction and Reefton is closing overnight in just over a week’s time, for road marking, says Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency.
Traffic resumed on the Haast highway, SH6 through Makarora in Otago today with two escorted convoys at midday and 4.30 pm – 80 towards Wanaka and 68 towards Haast for the midday journey.
Light vehicles and campervans will be able to travel through Makarora on the Otago side of the Haast Pass again today in two convoys at midday and 4.30 pm. From tomorrow 8 am convoys will be added in, says Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency.
Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency is aiming to re-open the Haast Pass link between the South Island’s West Coast and Otago/Queenstown to a single lane of traffic for light vehicles to be escorted through at set times from tomorrow (Tuesday 26 September).
The Haast Pass link between the South Island’s West Coast and Otago/ Queenstown is remaining closed this weekend due to the massive amount of slip material needing to be removed at Muddy Creek bridge and either side of it, says Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency.
People planning their school holiday departures need to check in with the MetService forecasts and Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency’s traffic and highways update to be on the safe side.
