A week of upgrades to the Harewood, Gardiners and Breens Roads intersection will cause delays for Metro’s Routes 8, 27 and 125 from 5pm on Sunday 4 January 2026.

The Christchurch City Council-led works include the installation of new traffic signals and upgrades to stormwater and water supply pipes on Harewood Road.

The intersection will be fully closed for seven days with the three affected bus routes detouring through nearby roads. It follows partial closures which have impacted Route 27 already. All detour details, including maps, are available to view on metro.co.nz/harewoodroad as well as on the relevant route webpages:

• Route 8 Port to Port (Airport to Lyttelton)
• Route 27 Northwood/Huntsbury
• Route 125 Redwood/Westlake

Several bus stops will also be temporarily moved or closed during this time – these will be sign-posted so it’s clear where customers can board and disembark instead.

“We’ve been working with Christchurch City Council to ensure disruption for our customers is minimised and so the detours we put in place are practical. We expect the detours could add around 10 minutes to journeys, including elsewhere on the affected routes,” public transport general manager Stewart Gibbon said.

“Customers of these three services will need to allow extra time to get to their destinations, while our buses travel their detoured routes,” he said.

The intersection is expected to reopen at 5am on Monday 12 January, with the affected services set to resume following that. A detour will remain in place until early February for Route 27 while the remaining work is completed.

“We want to thank our customers for their understanding, as well as residents whose streets we'll be temporarily journeying through. We know early January is a quieter time on our roads, so we’re hopeful that the impact is reduced,” Stewart said.

More information on the upgrades is available to view on Christchurch City Council’s website.

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