The NZ Transport Agency has scheduled a night time closure south of Kaikōura on Thursday, 13 December, in order to remove the scaffold tunnel near the Paratitahi Tunnels.
State Highway 1 between Peketa and immediately south of the Raramai Tunnels will be closed from 9pm on 13 December to 6.30am on 14 December.
However, to minimise the disruption to travellers and freight road users, crews will re-open the road every 90 minutes for 30 minutes during the night closure.
Scaffold tunnel to be removed near Paratitahi Tunnels
| Road closure times | Road open times |
| 9pm – 10.30pm | 10.30pm – 11pm |
| 11pm – 12.30am | 12.30am – 1am |
| 1am – 2.30am | 2.30am – 3am |
| 3am – 4.30am | 4.30am - 5am |
| 5am - 6.30am | 6.30am fully opened |
The night closure is essential to carry out the work safely says Tresca Forrester, Network Operations Manager for North Canterbury Transport Infrastructure Recovery (NCTIR).
“We understand that this closure will have an impact on the community and road users, which is why we will re-open it every 90 minutes for any waiting traffic,” she says.
“State Highway 1 north of Kaikōura and the Inland Road (Route 70 via Waiau) will remain open unless there are further weather events or other reasons for closures.
“While the road is closed, and within the road closure, the team will also mill a nearby rock on a tight bend that is overhanging the road. This milling will help with clearance for larger vehicles.
“We are all committed to getting this highway safely rebuilt and making the coastline as safe and resilient as possible”.
Once the shelter is removed, this will enable the team to finish off slope work and aim to have the twin Paratitahi road tunnels open before Christmas.
If it rains this work will move to the next dry night eg Friday night 14 December.
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