State Highway 6 through Haast Pass will close for two nights next week (24 to 28 November) to enable the replacement of the bridge at the Diana Falls slip site.
The NZ Transport Agency’s Regional Performance Manager Pete Connors says the Agency tried to replace the bridge earlier this month before the highway re-opened to 24/7 traffic on Wednesday 5 November but equipment failure meant it was not possible to complete the job.
“Weather permitting, the highway will close at the Haast Township at 3pm and Makarora at 3.30pm on Tuesday 25 November and re-open at the slip site at 11am on Wednesday 26 November; traffic being released at Haast township at 10am and at Makarora at 10.30am.
“We will close the highway again on 4pm at Haast township and 4.30pm at Makarora on Wednesday 26 November to complete the work. This closure is expected to be for only a few hours, the highway scheduled to re-open by 10pm.”
Mr Connors says it had been hoped to limit the closure to a single night but the work had turned out to be more complex than originally thought.
“We apologise for the inconvenience of the two closures. Since re-opening the highway to 24/7 traffic we’ve had up to 72 vehicles travelling through the area each night.”
He says once the existing bridge has been replaced, where Diana Falls flows under the highway, the Transport Agency will be able to reinstate the highway to two-lane traffic before Christmas.
Next week’s work is weather dependent and if postponed on Tuesday and/or Wednesday, it is intended to complete the work later in the week.
“The site may re-open earlier on both days but this will depend on how long it takes to complete the work.”
For the latest information on highway conditions, motorists are encouraged to visit the www.highwayinfo.govt.nz(external link) website or phone the Transport Agency’s 0800 4 HIGHWAYS info line.
For more information please contact:
Jan McCarthy
Media Manager - Christchurch
T: 03 964 2885
M: 021 427 442
E: jan.mccarthy@nzta.govt.nz
