Overnight tunnel work to close SH1

Tuesday, 4 December 2018

A night-time closure of State Highway 1, south of Kaikōura, has been scheduled to remove a scaffold tunnel and overhanging rock near the Paratitahi tunnels. Paratitahi 

The 6.6-kilometre strip of highway between Peketa and the Raramai Tunnels will be closed from 9pm on December 13 to 6.30am on December 14.

A New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) spokeswoman said workers would remove the wooden scaffolding outside the Paratitahi Tunnels, installed to protect the road from rockfall.

A rock overhanging a tight bend of the highway would also be milled within the closed section of road while it was cordoned off, she said.

The spokeswoman said the overhanging rock presented a 'big issue' for larger vehicles. Its removal would help with clearance and make the road 'less tight', she said.

Workers would reopen the road for 30 minutes every 90 minutes - at 10.30pm, 12.30am, 2.30am and 4.30am - during the closure to minimise disruption to travellers and freight road users.

North Canterbury Transport Infrastructure Recovery (NCTIR) network operations manager Tresca Forrester said the night closure was 'essential' to carry out work safely.

'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,' Forrester said.

'We are all committed to getting this highway safely rebuilt and making the coastline as safe and resilient as possible.'

Once the scaffolding was removed, workers would be able to finish off slope work.

The works were part of the continued $1.1 billion dollar rebuild of road and rail following the 2016 Kaikōura earthquake, which damaged 200 kilometres of road.

Motorists were limited to one-lane stop-go traffic control at the Paratitahi Tunnels as the northbound road tunnel was still undergoing construction. 

The spokeswoman said it was hoped both Paratitahi road tunnels would be open before Christmas.