Hokitika bridge, SH6, closed for railway crossing safety upgrade 20 June

The NZ Transport Agency advises all West Coast travellers and road users that the State Highway 6 bridge south of Hokitika will be closed all day Wednesday, 20 June.

iwiRail is replacing the railway line on the town side of the bridge, requiring both lanes of the highway around the rail lines to be dug up.

• The crossing is on Hokitika’s Fitzherbert St (SH6) at the entrance to the bridge, requiring a local road detour inland to Kaniere, coming out south of Ruatapu.
• Traffic will be detoured along Kaniere and Woodstock-Rimu Roads adding an additional five minutes to the journey (see map below).

However, HPMV and 50 MAX vehicles will not be able to use the detour route. The work has been timed to coincide with the Westland Milk Products milk tankers’ off-season, part of the reason for the timing, says Pete Connors, Transport Agency System Manager.

“If the weather is wet, this may be pushed out to the following Wednesday, 27 June,” says Mr Connors. “We have informed all the local freight companies about this work and the restrictions on truck weight for the detour from 7 am to 7 pm so that anyone driving an HPMV or 50MAX vehicle, needing to go south of Hokitika that day can plan their travel outside the work hours.”

The Transport Agency thanks all road users for their patience while this important safety work project is completed.

Site of the railway line replacement, north side of the Hokitika River Bridge.

Detour route shown in yellow.