Important maintenance may impact road users travelling on State Highways 1 and 7 in the North Canterbury/Kaikōura areas from this week.

From today, road construction work on SH1 at Hapuku, north of Kaikōura, means that road users will need to stop on demand and slow for a temporary 30km/h speed reduction. Delays of up to 15 minutes can be expected, and these restrictions are due to remain in place through to 31 March. Weather conditions may require changes in the schedule.

South of Kaikōura, on SH1 near Peketā, seawall repairs are scheduled to require temporary traffic lights from Wednesday 21 January through to Sunday 15 February, between 6am and 6pm. Road users should expect delays of up to 20 minutes and should plan their journeys accordingly.

Road users travelling north from Christchurch should also be aware of SH1 being closed to northbound traffic from today between Amberley and Glasnevin. This lane closure applies through until Friday 30 January. While the southbound traffic lane will still be operating, a 30km/h temporary speed limit restriction will be in place and people should expect delays of up to 15 minutes while this work is happening.

A detour will be available to northbound traffic: road users should turn left on to Douglas Road, follow straight onto Mount Brown Road, then turn right onto Georges Road, and then left back onto SH1.       

On State Highway 7, at Island Hills, near Glynn Wye Station, the highway is due to be fully closed from 9pm on Thursday 22 January through to 5.30am the next morning for road resealing. A midnight opening will allow traffic through in a controlled convoy.

The only available detour for this SH7 work is via State Highways 1, 63, 6 and 65 through Blenheim, but this will add more than four hours of travel time, so road users are urged to plan ahead. Again, factors such as weather may mean the postponement of this work. 

We thank people for their patience and understanding as this work is carried out to improve the highway network for road users.