SH1 Rolleston Access Improvements

Project Update December 2025

17 December 2025

The layout of the new roundabout adjacent to SH1 and the new approach from Dunns Crossing Road can be easily seen in the image above.

Construction pause over Christmas and New Year

Work will pause from this Friday 19 December to Sunday 4 January to give our crews and the community a break from construction. Although the site will be closed, machinery and equipment will remain in place with fencing to keep the site secure and maintain safety for people passing by. Roads around the site will reopen at midday on Friday so you can travel through without disruption.

What’s coming up at Dunns Crossing Road

From Monday 5 January through to the end of February, our crews will be back working at the SH1 intersection. The team will start building the new pedestrian and cyclist subway under the highway, and the southern half of the new roundabout. During this time, Dunns Crossing Road will be closed at the intersection with SH1. We appreciate this closure will impact people accessing the highway, however it’s unavoidable due to the amount of excavation we need to do for the subway. 

Looking ahead from about March, traffic will begin using the southern half of the new roundabout and the new Dunns Crossing Road approach. This will operate as left-in, left-out onto SH1. We’ll share more details in the New Year.

Steady progress has been made on site with earthworks, drainage, utility relocations and the retaining wall. Across the highway at Walkers Road, close coordination with KiwiRail enabled our crews to install rail signal ducting and flashing lights/barrier bases at the level crossing.

Work starting at Weedons Interchange

In mid-January, as part of this stage of the project, work will begin at the southern Weedons Road interchange roundabout to help ease queuing on the southbound motorway off-ramp. Improvements include:

• Traffic signals on the Weedons Road approach
• An extra lane on the west side of the roundabout
• New drainage and footpaths

The new traffic signals on the southern approach to the Weedons Road roundabout will only turn on when there’s a queue on the southbound motorway off-ramp. The signals will pause Weedons Road traffic, giving off-ramp traffic the opportunity to enter the roundabout. This will reduce queueing on the off-ramp and back onto the motorway.

The extra lane on the west side of the roundabout continues onto the SH1 overbridge, allowing northbound traffic to turn left onto the motorway on-ramp while traffic for the Rolleston industrial area continues straight through.

Looking out for wildlife

Following on from the relocation of southern grass skinks at our site, our crews recently spotted some interesting birds exploring the construction area when the nearby Selwyn River was in flood. The birds were identified as South Island Oyster Catchers, a protected species. To encourage them back to the safer habitat at the river, we’ve added some features to the site that make it less attractive for birds to settle there, like hawk silhouettes and streamers. We’ll continue to monitor the site for any wildlife activity.

A small number of South Island Oyster Catchers were tempted by the freshly turned earth on our site but soon returned to more familiar territory at the Selwyn River.

Safety first at school

Earlier this month, we visited West Rolleston Primary School with Fulton Hogan to talk about staying safe near work sites. The highlight for the kids was of course the truck and safety equipment!

The kids loved learning how to look out for themselves and each other and be safe on our roads. This is especially important as there is a lot of work going on around the school. We encouraged the children to share what they had learned with their family and friends too.

After a classroom session reading the picture book ‘My Mum is Queen of the Road’, the children were excited to meet some real-life traffic management staff and see how the equipment worked.

Traffic lights at Dunns Crossing Road and Burnham School Road

Selwyn District Council is installing new traffic signals at the intersection of Dunns Crossing Road and Burnham School Road, along with a range of safety and accessibility improvements. These include kerb and channel upgrades, road resurfacing, widened footpaths, additional street lighting, new signage, road markings and stormwater service upgrades.

Work is scheduled between 5 January and 13 February 2026, with most activity occurring Monday to Friday, 7am to 5pm, and Saturdays if required. A full intersection closure will take place from 12 January to 23 January, while other periods will involve temporary traffic management.

For more information, visit Selwyn District Council.

More information

For more information see our website and sign up for the newsletter. You can also subscribe for work notices, which will outline the days, time and duration of specific pieces of work that may cause disruption. 

For specific questions email rollestonaccess@nzta.govt.nz