Source: New Zealand Transport Agency
On Tuesday 13 October, Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency announced a timetable change (starting Sunday 18 October) to the night work to install permanent rockfall protection between Peketa and the Parititahi Tunnels south of Kaikōura to increase productivity.
Following additional feedback from the freight industry, coming into the summer season when their workload increases, the new timetable will not be introduced. Instead, the current timetable will continue with one minor change (see table below). That change is to keep the road closed until 6.30am so that the crew have a larger window of time to complete their work.
Waka Kotahi Owner Interface Manager Colin Knaggs says it’s a balancing act to try and manage the many needs of road users along with this construction work.
“This critical safety work must be done at night but we also need to support the freight industry to keep their goods moving. We’ve listened to our customers and thank them for their on-going patience during this project.”
The closures will continue to be in place five nights a week (Sunday – Thursday) with set opening times throughout the night to clear traffic (see table below). Night closures will run until December, and the resume in January to complete the work.
The road will not be closed on Sunday 25 October during Labour Weekend and the road will be open until 9pm on the night of Monday 26 October. For the latest information, please check:
www.nzta.govt.nz/p2c
SH1 south of Kaikōura – night closures
Timetable: Sunday 18 October to December, 5 nights a week (Sunday–Thursday)
| Time | Road status |
|---|---|
| 7:00pm–8:30pm | Road will be closed for 30-minute intervals from 7pm–8.30pm. Following a 30-minute closure the road will re-open to allow queued traffic through, and then close again for 30 minutes. This cycle is repeated until 8.30pm. (Average wait time 20–25 minutes). |
| 8:30pm–9:00pm | ROAD OPEN for 30 minutes |
| 9:00pm–11:30pm | ROAD CLOSED |
| 11:30pm | ROAD OPEN to clear queued traffic only. Traffic MUST be in the queue by 11:30pm to be let through. |
| 11:30pm–3:00am | ROAD CLOSED |
| 3:00am–4:00am | ROAD OPEN for one hour |
| 4:00am–6:30am | ROAD CLOSED |
| 6:30am–7:00pm | ROAD OPEN (6am on Mondays) |
Detours for night closures: Light vehicles via Waiau, heavy vehicles via Lewis Pass
- If people need to travel during the closure times and don’t want to time their travel for the set opening times, the Inland Road via Waiau (Route 70) is open 24/7 and would be the detour for light vehicles.
- The alternative route for heavy vehicles between Picton/Blenheim and Waipara would be via SH7, SH65, SH6 and SH63. This route is open 24/7 and takes about 6.5 hours to travel.
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