Highways South, the Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency highway maintenance contractor in Southland, will be closing part of SH6 for a week from 19 September to replace a major culvert.

SH6, the Lumsden-Dipton highway, will be closed between Caroline Valley Road and Josephville-St Patrick’s Road from 19 – 25 September (Monday to Sunday, weather permitting). The culvert is at Ram Hill Stream on the Lumsden side of the Josephville Hill.

The detour route is suitable for all vehicles – light and heavy – HPMV and 50MAX.

The work to replace the ageing infrastructure only happens every 80 or so years and is necessary to increase the area’s resilience in torrential rain/flooding conditions.

Road users heading north or south will be detoured via Dipton-Castlerock Road/SH94 Mossburn-Lumsden highway during this time.

“A full closure is required as the large size of the pipe - 2.5 metres wide - requires a five-metre deep excavation and therefore a similarly wide safety zone – the full width of the road,” says Justin Reid, Maintenance Contract Manager for Waka Kotahi in Southland. “As the site is on a hill and on a bend, with limited shoulders on each side, there is no room to build a temporary bypass road in this area.

“While the highway is closed in this location, the crew will use the opportunity to start the renewal work on Josephville Hill and complete routine maintenance activities to reduce future disruption as much as possible,” says Mr Reid.

While this work will take four to five weeks, once the culvert is replaced, the Lumsden-Dipton highway will be reopened, with traffic control in place.

Businesses in Dipton and Lumsden remain open and fully accessible by road users during this time.

Highways South thanks road users and people who live on the Dipton-Lumsden section of SH6 in advance for their patience while this critical work is completed.

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