Rock Shelter Otira Gorge, SH73 – confirmation of week ahead, work at McGrath Creek Bridge from Sunday night

Rockfall remediation work at the Rock Shelter between Otira and Arthur’s Pass, SH73, continues for another three weeks, says NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA).

The six week programme has been underway for three weeks with good progress being made using a crew with a remote-controlled digger and managed traffic flows, says NZTA.

“While we will continue to have delays for drivers of up to an hour weekdays, opening on the hour from 9 am to 5 pm, our crews are as flexible as they can be and drivers may well have minimal delays getting past the Rock Shelter,” says NZTA Maintenance Contract Manager on the West Coast, Moira Whinham.

“We know there will be more traffic over the coming fortnight for school holidays, so please build in extra time and bear in mind we are doing everything we can while we have the digger in place, to minimise the chances of future rockfall-triggered closures affecting the highway at this spot.”

The highway is now open overnights with no delays at the Rock Shelter after 5pm or before 9 am.

McGrath Creek Bridge starts this Sunday night

An additional bridge repair project on SH73 postponed from a week ago is likely to start on Sunday night at McGrath Creek, closer to Arthur’s Pass. This will potentially cause delays up to an hour over night hours – 8pm to 6am.

• Night work at McGrath Creek bridge has been rescheduled to the coming week, weather dependent, Sunday 29 September to Monday, 7 October.  There will be up to one-hour delays between 8pm and 6am.  The road will be open on the hour to clear traffic, with vehicles queued either side of the bridge work site.
• This work is subject to weather and may be rescheduled if the forecast changes this weekend.

The Lewis Pass via Waipara and Reefton, SH7, is the alternative route adding around an hour to the journey between Canterbury and the West Coast.

• Any changes to route availability will be updated on the Journey Planner at all times.
  Journey Planner(external link)
• Electronic signs at each end of SH73 in places like Kumara Junction and Springfield will let people know the open hours that day.
• An update will be provided each Friday to confirm the closures for the following week.

NZTA understands that this work at the Rock Shelter and at McGrath Creek Bridge is disruptive and appreciates people’s understanding and patience while we make this route safe and get the highway back to normal operations for the summer.

Traffic and highway closure updates(external link)