As the weather warms up in Southland, so too does the opportunity to improve road users’ journeys by completing road works projects.

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

Hand-in-hand with roadworks comes temporary traffic management, which can include temporary speed limits, signs, cones and mobile traffic lights. This helps keep our road workers, road users and their vehicles safe. It also allows these construction and resurfacing projects to be completed successfully and on time.

You can help keep our road crews safe

Keeping everyone safe while this intense period of work is underway is something all road users can help with, says Justin Reid, Maintenance Contract Manager for Waka Kotahi in Southland. While he appreciates that delays due to traffic management at road works can be frustrating, most of the time these are limited to a five-minute delay at each work site and safety is always the primary concern.

“Speeding through work sites continues to be a significant problem in Southland, which is dangerous to everyone. Motorists have less control at higher speeds and can lose control completely on uneven roadwork surfaces,” says Mr Reid. “Even when there appears to be no one on site working, we may leave temporary speed limits in place due to reduced visibility, loose road surfaces or obstructions, bad forecasted weather or to protect more vulnerable road users like motorcyclists, cyclists and pedestrians.

“If speeding at road work sites continues to put our road workers and other road users at risk, traffic management such as road closures could be used, which would be significantly more disruptive to road users and are a last resort.”

Some of the road reconstruction projects coming up include:

• SH1, Waipahi highway at Pukerau
• SH1, Edendale-Woodlands highway at Kerr Road
• SH6, Lumsden-Dipton highway at Josephville-Glenure Road
• SH96, Winton-Wreys Bush highway near Hundred Line Road
• SH96, Winton-Wreys Bush highway near Wairio-Wreys Bush Road

More than 70km of state highways will be reconstructed or resurfaced in the next six to seven months to improve people’s journeys in Southland.

Highways South acknowledges that this work will cause some disruption for road users and appreciates the patience of the local community and daily road users.

If there are concerns or questions around these works, road users can call 03 211 1561 to speak with the Highways South team, or sign up for email updates for Southland highways via our Facebook page: www.facebook.com/HighwaysSouthNZ

Plan ahead for a safe, enjoyable journey. Keep up to date with:

· COVID-19 services update: nzta.govt.nz/COVID19

· Traffic updates: journeys.nzta.govt.nz/traffic

• Facebook: facebook.com/NZTASouthIsland
• Twitter Otago/Southland: twitter.com/WakaKotahiOS
• Journey planner: journeys.nzta.govt.nz
• Phone: 0800 4 HIGHWAYS (0800 44 44 49)

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