Rocks will be rolling at Central Otago’s Nevis Bluff from next week as critical safety work is undertaken on State Highway 6 between Cromwell and Queenstown.

The work by New Zealand Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA) involves abseilers on the Bluff doing a controlled release of rock (see images below) that has been loosened by weather erosion and poses a risk to people using the highway.

To achieve this without danger to road users, traffic management will be in place on the highway below while work is happening weekdays 8am to 5pm, starting next Monday (11 May). Traffic will be stopped and held in both directions periodically during these periods. The work is expected to continue for about three weeks.

“People travelling on SH6/Gibbston Highway between Cromwell and Queenstown during these times should build in about 10 minutes of extra travel time as delays will be inevitable while the work is being done,” says NZTA’s maintenance contract manager for Central Otago, Peter Standring.

“We know these delays can be frustrating, and we appreciate peoples’ patience and understanding as this work is carried out for the safety of all road users.”

The work at Nevis Bluff is part of an ongoing monitoring and management programme by NZTA, which is continuously checking for movement and changes on the geologically complex Bluff.

Last spring, work at the bluff included blasting with precision explosives to clear rock that was posing a hazard. About 150 cubic metres of rock was removed at a feature known as Tower Wedge.

Work at the bluff this month will depend on various factors and may be amended or rescheduled at short notice. Notification will be provided of any changes for road users.

Meanwhile, NZTA’s summer roading construction season in Central Otago has recently come to an end, with significant stretches of road resealed or reconstructed across the region since October last year.

In total, more than 70 lane kilometres* of state highway in the region have been resealed across multiple sites.

Road reconstructions include 6.65 lane kilometres of State Highway 8, near the settlement of Bendigo, north of Cromwell, using 9000 cubic metres of material over 4200 hours of work. Another stretch of SH8, near Millers Flat, has seen 6.2 lane kilometres reconstructed, using 10,500 cubic metres of material over 6000 hours of work.

In addition to the reseals and reconstructions, 62 soil nails and 47 micro piles were used to strengthen the existing retaining wall at Scrubby Gully, and maintenance at the Luggate Red Bridge on State Highway 8A included 168 steel reinforcing channels, 30 strengthening beams, 120 running boards replaced and other minor repairs.

Find out more here about the work across the summer season: https://nzta.govt.nz/projects/sh-maintenance-programme/otago

*Lane kilometres count the number of lanes (including passing lanes) on a road rather than just the distance between point A and B. For example, a four-lane 10-kilometre stretch of road has a total of 40 lane kilometres.

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