People who normally travel to Central Otago, Dunedin or Oamaru via SH85, commonly known as the Pigroot, will have a detour from the end of August for up to a month.

Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency’s Highway Highlanders maintenance team will be installing three drainage trenches under an area of highway which has been prone to slips for many decades.

“In order to install the drains, the highway has to be excavated and the safety barrier removed temporarily. These drains will discharge into a trench in the nearby gully to stop the groundwater undermining the highway at this spot,” says Jennifer McLean, Maintenance Contract Manager for Waka Kotahi.

SH85 connects Kyeburn and Palmerston.

The work site on SH85 is between Morrisons and Kyeburn near the Gold Fields Plaque carpark. Work is planned to start Monday, 29 August from 8 am and be completed by Monday, 26 September, 5pm, however these dates and times are subject to weather, so could change.

Detour for light vehicles (cars, vans)

Car drivers will be detoured from SH85 at Waynes, near Dunback, via Macraes Road, Hyde-Macraes Road and SH87 to Kyeburn, and the reverse. This detour adds around 30 minutes to the journey.

Residents, landowners and businesses within the closure site will retain access to their properties from either end of the closure up to the work site.

• The detour is not suitable for HPMVs (high productivity motor vehicles) due to weight restrictions on the Hyde-Macraes Road Bridge.

HPMV detour

HPMVs will need to detour via SH1 and SH87 through Dunedin and Mosgiel.

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