A series of public holidays and anniversary days coming up, coupled with major events and school holidays, is expected to mean a surge in traffic and potential for harm on state highways in Otago/Southland, and across the wider South Island.

This increase in traffic volumes this long weekend for Otago Anniversary Day weekend (21-23 March), and for the long Easter holiday weekend (3-6 April) and Southland Anniversary Day (7 April), raises the risk of crashes and road users are being urged to travel with patience and caution.

The Warbirds over Wanaka event attracts tens of thousands of visitors over the Easter weekend and this makes Central Otago a hotspot for travel and holidaymakers even more than usual.

“Every two years we see people travelling from around the country, and even from beyond New Zealand, to Wanaka to see the warbirds and classic aircraft in action,” says Nicole Felts, journey manager in Otago/Southland for the New Zealand Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA).

“It means busy roads leading in and out of Wanaka for the event, but also around Queenstown and other popular tourist regional attractions that people want to take in over the long weekend.”

“There’s no secret about the things people can do to keep themselves safe on the roads – it’s just about putting them into action. Avoid drink-driving and speeding, get enough rest before travelling and stop and take a break if fatigue sets in, and drive to the conditions that are in front of you. We can all get frustrated when stuck in queues or seeing poor driving behaviour around us but staying composed and patient is also important.”

Those travelling south for Warbirds over Wanaka are encouraged to consider alternative routes to State Highway 79 through Orari, in South Canterbury, which is known to be a hotspot for holiday traffic. Temporary traffic signals will be in place at the Upper Orari Bridge at Easter to better manage traffic flows.

Events in Canterbury over Easter that are expected to generate substantial flows of people and vehicles include the Christchurch Easter Show at Canterbury Agricultural Park, off State Highway 76/Christchurch Southern Motorway, and the Mackenzie A&P Highland Show in Fairlie on Easter Monday (a one day event near State Highway 8 getting 12-15,000 people through the gates).

While NZTA’s roadworks will generally pause over the holiday weekends, the wet summer just experienced means there is now a squeeze on the schedule of activities remaining to fit into the current maintenance and construction season.

NZTA area manager for the central South Island, Mark Pinner, says outside of the long Easter weekend people can expect to encounter more roadworks than usual in some parts of the South Island through until the end of April.

“When you strike delays at several worksites over a long journey, this can have a significant impact on peoples’ travel time, so we do encourage people to consider this, and to allow more time and plan ahead by using our Journey Planner tool,” Mr Pinner says.

“We appreciate that having to repeatedly slow down, detour or stop at worksites can be frustrating, but we need to take advantage while the weather is warmer to get repairs and upgrades to the highways done for the benefit of all those who use the roads.”

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