Southland state highway planned roadworks

16-22 December 2026

15 December 2025

Pre-seal quality checks being made as part of a major road rebuild on SH94 at The Key between Mossburn and Te Anau. 

Kia ora

Kia ora

This is our final Southland state highway planned roadworks newsletter for 2025. We  hope you have found it useful with planning your journey's on our highway network.Our first newsletter for 2026 will be out on Monday 12 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 SouthlandMaintenance@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.

State highways with scheduled works this week

SH1 Woodlands to Bluff 
SH90 near Gore
SH93 Mataura to Clinton (Old Coach Road)
SH94 Mossburn to Te Anau highway at The Key SH94 Te Anau highway at The Key, and Milford Road to the Homer Tunnel
SH96 Nightcaps to Ohai highway
SH96 Winton Hedgehope highway 

Invercargill to Dunedin

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  Plan your journey accordingly allowing extra time for travel.

SH1 Invercargill to Woodlands: Road pavement repairs are underway from 15 to 18 December, 8 am to 5 pm.  Expect delays of up to 5 minutes. Work will occur at various locations.

 SH93 Mataura to Clinton: Tree maintenance near Elliot Road on 16 December, 8am to 5pm. Expect delays of around 10 minutes.

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

SH1 North Milton: Culvert repairs will take place from 17 to 19 December, from 7am to 6pm. 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 Allanton: Roadside preparation work will take place on 15 December, from 6am to 7pm. Expect delays of around 5 minutes.

Invercargill and Queenstown to Milford Sound

SH94 Te Anau to Mossburn (at The Key): A road rebuild will continue until 18 December, Monday to Saturday, 7am to 6pm. Morning traffic toward Milford Sound will be prioritised, and afternoon traffic returning from Milford Sound will then receive priority. Expect delays of over 15 minutes

SH94 Te Anau to the Homer Tunnel: Due to tunnel maintenance and geotechnical investigation works, SH94 will close from the Divide carpark to the Lower Hollyford Road intersection, and at the Homer Tunnel on Monday 15th December between 7pm and 2am. Also a closure of the Homer Tunnel only on Tuesday 16th December between 7pm and 2am. Traffic will be allowed through the site at 9pm each night. More details here

Plant and quipment similiar to that shown below is often required for SH94 Homer Tunnel maintenance work.

Work on key state highways across Southland

SH1 Invercargill to Bluff (south of Clifton): A road rebuild will continue until 18 December, 8am to 6pm. Expect delays of up to 10 minutes.

SH90 near Gore (between Waikaka Valley and Cunningham Roads): A two-stage road rebuild is underway. Stage one runs until 18 December, Monday to Friday, 7am to 6pm, and includes earthworks and drainage for highway renewal work. 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

SH96 Nightcaps to Ohai Highway (near Forest Road): Road rebuild work will take place through ot the 18 December, 7am to 6pm. Expect delays of up to 10 minutes.

SH96 Winton to Hedgehope highway: Drainage work at Zwies  Road in preparation for a highway rebuild, and continues until 18 December from 7am to 6pm. Expect delays of up to 10 minutes.

More information

Be aware of other less disruptive highway works not listed in this newsletter.

For more details about these check out the NZTA Journey Planner  or phone 0800 4 HIGHWAYS (0800 444 449)

For more information on the Southland state highway maintenance programme, contact us at SouthlandMaintenance@nzta.govt.nz or visit our website