Source: New Zealand Transport Agency
The state highway summer maintenance season continues in the top of the South Island with State Highway 6 Whangamoa Saddle, between Rai Valley and Hira set for a summer spruce up.
This route will have three weeks of night closures during November for road resurfacing and maintenance work.
The work will run from 9 November until 28 November. It will see State Highway 6 between Hira and Rai Valley closed from 7 pm to 7 am, Sunday to Thursday nights. No work will be done on Friday and Saturdays.
Rob Service, System Manager Nelson-Tasman, says it’s critical this important route between Nelson and Marlborough is regularly maintained.
“It’s essential our road crews complete this work to ensure the highway is in good shape before the busy Christmas and New Year period. They’ll be clearing drainage, replacing a culvert, doing resilience improvements, and other general maintenance work.”
“We have deliberately timed the work to happen at night, and it is also well outside peak summer holiday traffic. It means it will affect as few road users as possible,” Mr Service says.
Road milling night works, SH6 Whangamoa Saddle.
The road will be opened once per night at 12:30 am to let traffic through. The freight industry and other drivers must plan carefully to ensure they meet this schedule.
Mr Service says given the narrowness of the road and the heavy equipment being used for resurfacing, the highway must be closed.
“We realise road closures are disruptive, but they help keep our road crews and drivers safe. They also let us complete work much faster than doing it during the day under stop/go traffic controls.”
“That would take far longer and create major delays for drivers. Night closures, when fewer people actually use the route, help us avoid this,” Mr Service says.
He says the closure does mean a lengthy detour via State Highway 63 and the Wairau Valley.
“It is absolutely essential drivers are aware of this and plan accordingly. Travelling between Nelson and Renwick is normally a 90-minute trip. With the detour via the Wairau Valley, it is over two hours.”
Drivers also need to be aware of other state highway maintenance work planned for State Highways around the region in November, including the night closures on State Highway 1, Weld Pass south of Marlborough.
They should check road conditions before they travel, be aware of where the road works are, and plan their journeys properly.
Other state highway maintenance works
- SH6 Whangamoa Saddle resilience work
- Ongoing 24/7 resilience work. Stop/go with delays of up to 10 minutes.
SH6 Whangamoa Saddle – works schedule and location
- 9 to 28 November, Sunday to Thursday nights, 7 pm – 7 am.
- No work will be done on Friday and Saturday nights. The highway will be open, but traffic management and temporary speed limits will apply at work areas.
- There will be one nightly opening of the road at 12:30 am to allow vehicles through. Drivers must be at the closure points (at the weighbridge in Hira, and on the Rai Valley straight at Rai Engineering & Mechanical) by 12:30 am.
- Bad weather may see works delayed or extended.
- Access will be available for emergency services at all times.
- There will be other areas of work on our state highways across the top of the South during November. Please plan ahead when travelling.
Detour route
- The alternate route for drivers wanting to travel over night between Blenheim and Nelson is via State Highway 63 and St Arnaud.
- This a much longer route and will add around 45 minutes to travel times between Nelson and Renwick.
Works location
View large map of Whangamoa Saddle night closures during November [PDF, 6.1 MB]
