Otago planned state highway roadworks

16-22 December 2025

15 December 2025

On the home straight. Good progess continues on a major road rebuild on SH1 at Pukeuri north of Oamaru. When finished, it will extend the life of the road and provide a smoother driving surface.

Kia ora

This is our final Otago state highway planned roadworks newsletter for 2025. We  hope you have found it useful in helping with planning your journey's on our highway network.Our first newsletter for 2026 will be out on Monday12 January.

We would like to hear your ideas on how we can improve our newsletter for next year, to give you more of the information you want. Email your feedback to OtagoMaintenance@nzta.govt.nz

Over the holiday break stay up to date anytime on the lastest highway travel information on the NZTA  Journey Planner.

Journey Planner is a good source of current highway info to help plan your trips, especially in busy holiday hot spots spots such as Central Otago, and the Queenstown Lakes District.

Roadworks over the Christmas and New Year period

All roadworks will pause for the main holiday period, with contractors shutting down sites from midday Friday 19 December until at least the morning of Monday 5 January. The only exception would be if emergency works are required or essential work needs to be completed.

State highways with scheduled works this week

SH1 Oamaru to Balclutha 
SH6 Kawarau Gorge
SH6 Muddy and Brady Creeks 
SH8 Millers Flat and the Manuka Gorge 
SH83 Awamoko
SH85 Palmerston to Dunback Road
SH87 Middlemarch
SH90 near Gore
SH93 Clinton to Mataura

Dunedin to Christchurch

SH1 Dunedin to the Waitaki River Bridge: High-pressure water cutting will take place at various locations to improve grip and skid resistance from 15 to 19 December, from 6am to 7pm. Expect delays of around 5 minutes.

SH1 Waikouaiti to Dunedin: Road pavement repairs will take place at various locations from 15 to 17 December, from 6am to 7pm. Expect delays of around 5 minutes.

SH1 north of Palmerston: Preparation work for a road rebuild is underway until 19 December, from 6am to 7pm. Expect delays of around 5 minutes.

SH1 Kakaho Creek: Preparation work for a road rebuild will continue until 19 December, Monday to Friday, from 6am to 7pm. Expect delays of around 5 minutes.

SH1 Pukeuri: A road rebuild is underway until 19 December, 7 days a week, from 6am to 4pm. Stop/go and lane shifts are in place, with a 30 km/h temporary speed limit. Expect delays of up to 15 minutes.

SH1 Timaru, Evans Street / Grants Road: Taitarakihi Culvert replacement works are continuing. Crews have moved to the western side of the highway. Access to Grants Road will be closed 24 hours a day during this stage. Please use alternative side streets to reach SH1.

SH1 Rakaia to Timaru: Pavement and surfacing repairs will take place at various locations on weekdays from 7am to 6pm. The sites will operate under daytime stop/go traffic management with a 30 km/h temporary speed limit. Expect delays of up to 20 minutes.

SH1 at the Heslerton Road intersection: Resurfacing work continues until16 December near the Synlait Milk Factory. traffic management will include a lane closure on SH1 with stop/go in place, and delays of up to 10 minutes are expected.
Parkins Road will be closed with no access to or from the state highway. Access to the rail crossing and Synlait from State Highway 1 will be closed from 7pm to 5.30am. On Monday 15 December, three-way manual traffic control will be in place on SH1 and Heslerton Road, and Parkins Road will remain closed.

SH1 Between Dunns Crossing Road and Burnham: Chip sealing work is complete, and a 30 km/h temporary speed limit will remain in place until the end of the week to allow the chip to bed in.

SH1 Rolleston at the intersection with Dunns Crossing Road:  Entry to Dunns Crossing Road from SH1 remains closed, reopening for the Christmas break on 19 December.

SH76 Christchurch Southern Motorway: Night work will continue until 18 December, 7pm to 5am. Crews are adding 4.6 km of barrier and maintenance bays between Wrights Road and Halswell Junction Road. No delays are expected.

Dunedin to Invercargill

SH1 Allanton: Roadside preparation work will take place on 15 December, from 6am to 7pm. Expect delays of around 5 minutes.

SH1 Milton Highway North: Drainage repairs will take place from 17 to 19 December, from 7am to 6pm. Expect delays of around 5 minutes.

SH1 North Milton: Culvert repairs from 17 to 19 December, from 7am to 6pm. Expect delays of around 5 minutes.

SH1 Rosebank Hill Balclutha: Road surface repairs from 16 to 18 December, from 7am to 6pm. Expect delays of around 5 minutes.

SH93 Mataura to Clinton: Tree maintenance work near Elliot Road near Elliot Road, 16 December, 8am to 5pm. Expect delays of up to 5 minutes.

SH1 Invercargill to Gore: Road surface repairs at various locations  from 15 to 18 December, 8am to 5pm. Expect delays of up to 5 minutes.

SH1 Invercargill to East Road Kennington: SH1 Waihopai Bridge repairs, with the bridge closed in both directions  on Tuesday 16th December and Wednesday 17th December, between 5am and 9pm. Detours in place, please follow the signs. More details here Expect delays of around10 minutes.

Dunedin to Queenstown

SH1 Allanton: Roadside preparation work will take place on 15 December, from 6am to 7pm. Expect delays of around 5 minutes.

SH1 North of Milton: Drainage works will take place from Tuesday 17 to 19 December, from 7am to 6pm. Expect delays of around 5 minutes.

SH1 North Milton: Road culvert repairs from 17 to 19 December from 6am to 7pm. Expect delays of around 5 minutes.

SH8 Manuka Gorge: Road surface repairs will take place on 17 December, from 7am to 6pm. Allow for delays of around 5 minutes.

SH8 Stableburn: A 3km road rebuild is underway and will continue until 9 April 2026, Monday to Friday, from 7am to 6pm. This work will extend the life of the road and create a smoother driving surface. A full holiday shutdown of the site  from 19 December to 12 January.

SH6 Kawarau Gorge: Emergency works to clear weather event material will continue until 18 December, from 7am to 6pm. Expect delays of around 5 minutes.

Work on other key Otago highways

SH6 Muddy and Brady Creeks near Makarora: Emergency works to repair weather event damage continue until 18 December, from 7am to 6pm. Expect delays of around 5 minutes.

SH83 Awamoko: Highway rebuild preparation work will take place until 19 December, from 7am to 6pm. Expect delays of up to 10 minutes.

SH85 Palmerston to Dunback Road: Highway rebuild work will continue until 19 December, Monday to Friday, from 6am to 7pm. Expect delays of up to 10 minutes.

SH87 Middlemarch: Variable message board maintenance will take place on 16 December, from 7am to 6pm. Expect delays of around 5 minutes.

SH90 near Gore: A two-stage road rebuild is underway. Stage one runs until 18 December, Monday to Friday, from 7am to 6pm, and includes earthworks and drainage for highway renewal. Allow for delays of up to 10 minutes. Stage two runs from 5 January to 31 March and includes excavation, construction, and road surfacing. Traffic will be managed by temporary traffic lights with a 30 km/h speed limit.

For more information

Note that there may be other less disruptive state highway works not listed in this newsletter. Work is often weather dependant and can be postponed and rescheduled.

Remember for the most current information about highway works check the NZTA Journey Planner or phone 0800 4 HIGHWAYS (0800 444 449)

Visit our website the Otago Highway Maintenance or contact us at OtagoMaintenance@nzta.govt.nz