Highway closures for Anzac Day services
NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi | 20 Apr 2026 3:41pm | West Coast, Canterbury, Otago, Southland
As New Zealand honours those who have served and died for their country this weekend, temporary closures will be in place for state highways around the South Island to accommodate Anzac Day services.
The road closures in the central and lower South Island on Saturday 25 April are scheduled as follows:
- Westport, West Coast – State Highway 67 (Palmerston Street/Brougham Street), between Wakefield Street and Queen Street, 10.30am to 12.30pm.
- Greymouth, West Coast – State Highway 6 (High Street), between Brunner Street and Franklin Street, 6am to 9am.
- Halswell, Christchurch – State Highway 75 (Halswell Road), between Lillian Street and Nicholls Road, 7.30am to 11am.
- Ashburton, Mid Canterbury – State Highway 1 (West Street), between Wills Street and Burnett Street, 6am to 7.30am & 10am to 12pm.
- Fairlie, South Canterbury – State Highway 8 (Main Street), between Princes Street and Kirke Street, 10.30am to 11.30am.
- Waimate, South Canterbury – State Highway 82 (Queen Street), between High Street and William Street, 10am to 1pm.
- Alexandra, Central Otago – State Highway 85 (Tarbert Street), between State Highway 8 and Walton Street, 10am to 12pm.
- Outram, Otago – State Highway 87 (Holyhead Street), between Formby Street and the Mountfort Street, 10.30am to 12.30pm.
- Mosgiel, Otago – State Highway 87 (Gordon Road), between Factory Road and Cargill Street, 9am to 12pm.
- Riverton, Southland – State Highway 99 (Palmerston Street), between Princess Street and Jetty Street, 10am to 11am.
- Invercargill, Southland – State Highway 6 (Dee Street), between Victoria Avenue and Spey Street, 6am to 9am.
Where detours are available for the above closures, these will be signposted.
In addition to these closures, road users can expect increased traffic volumes on the state highways for the long holiday weekend (with the public holiday for Anzac Day being observed on Monday 27 April).
The first-ever full round of Super Rugby Pacific hosted in New Zealand, at the brand new One New Zealand Stadium in Christchurch, is expected to attract visitors to Christchurch from far afield.
Super Rugby Pacific(external link)
People are encouraged to plan their journeys accordingly, and to allow extra time for travel where closures or increased traffic volumes occur.
People can stay up to date on any changes to the scheduled closures or other restrictions at our Journey Planner site. Information on the predicted busiest times are available on Journey Planner's Holiday journeys page.