NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA) advises people who travel on SH1 south of Christchurch after 7pm at night to be ready for up to 30 minute delays from next week.

The Selwyn River/Waikirikiri Bridge on SH1 between Rolleston and Dunsandel is having significant maintenance undertaken. The bridge needs to be lifted over the next few months to maintain the bridge’s structural integrity. This work will conclude maintenance activity started in May this year.

Mondays and Wednesday nights could result in delays, temporary full bridge closures

This latest piece of work will occur two nights a week, Monday and Wednesday, between 7pm and 5am the next day. Traffic controllers will use Stop/Go to hold traffic in both directions for up to 30 minutes while the bridge is jacked and piers are repaired while there is no traffic on the structure.

• Single-lane Stop/Go operations will start from 7pm, with the up to 30 minute full closures from 10pm.
• The exact timing of the closures cannot be fixed as seven set-ups are required each night alongside other tasks.
• Any traffic that queues during the jacking operation will be cleared prior to the next setup so the maximum wait time for journeys across the bridge will be 30 minutes.

“Outside of these hours there will be temporary speed restrictions in place 24/7,” says Tracy-Leigh Bell, Canterbury Network Manager for Structures, for NZTA.

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The work will start next week, Wednesday 14 August, then the following Monday and Wednesday nights, 19 and 21 August, through to the end of October – for up to two-and-a-half months over those Monday and Wednesday night hours. Other nights of the week are unaffected.

“We encourage drivers who routinely use this part of SH1 after 7 pm or overnight to build in extra time on Monday and Wednesday nights. Closures may not be required on every Monday or Wednesday night during this period, and we will publish on our webpage and use roadside VMS to confirm the nights they are scheduled at least 24hrs in advance.”

Freight and over-dimension loads

All vehicle types can continue to use the bridge including permitted ‘crawl central’ movements, however over-dimension/overweight vehicle operators will need to provide advance notification and coordinate with the project team beforehand.

NZTA thanks all SH1 Canterbury drivers for taking care around our bridge repair crews and slowing to 30km/h through the worksite.

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