Southland state highway planned roadworks

9-15 December 2026

8 December 2025

A road rebuild involves removing the existing road surface as shown above, and replacing it with new material. This increases the strength and life of the road, making  it safer for everyone. 

Kia ora

Welcome to our first Southland state highway planned roadworks newsletter covering Tuesdays to Mondays.

This change means you’ll receive the latest highway planned roadworks information at the start of the week, making it easier to plan your highway travels. The Tuesday to Monday newsletter cycle will continue until the end of the current construction in April when it will be reviewed.

To stay up to date anytime you want visit our Journey Planner.

 Just a reminder all highway roadworks will pause for the Christmas and New Year holiday break. Our contractors are closing their sites  from midday Friday 19 December, and will be back on the job early morning on Monday 5 January. Long-term sites may have ongoing restrictions in place.

State highways with scheduled works this week

SH1 Pukerau north of Gore to Bluff
SH6 Lorneville to Five Rivers
SH90 near Gore
SH93 Mataura to Clinton (Old Coach Road)
SH94 Gore to Milford Sound 
SH96 Nightcaps to Ohai highway
 

Invercargill to Dunedin

SH1 Invercargill to Mataura: Road repairs are underway from 8 to 12 December, 8 am to 5 pm. Temporary traffic signals are operating. Expect delays of up to 5 minutes. Work will occur at various locations.

SH1 Gore to Pukerau: High-pressure water cutting will improve grip and skid resistance from 8 to 12 December, 5.30am to 4pm. Expect delays of around 5 minutes. Work will occur at various locations.

SH93 Mataura to Clinton: High-pressure water cutting will take place from 8 to 2 December, 5.30am to 4pm. Expect delays of around 10 minutes.

SH93 Mataura to Clinton: Road repairs will take place near both River Road and Old Manse Road from 8 to 10 December, 8am to 5pm. Expect delays of up to 5 minutes.

SH1 North Milton: Road surface sealing will take place on 8 and 9 December, 9am to 3pm. Expect delays of around 5 minutes.

SH1 North of Milton: Drainage maintenance will take place from 9 to 16 December, excluding weekends, 7am to 6pm. Expect delays of around 5 minutes.

SH1 Allanton: Roadside preparation work will take place on 8 December, 6am to 7pm. Expect delays of around 5 minutes.

Invercargill and Queenstown to Milford Sound

SH6 Winton–Lorneville Highway (Wilson Crossinging Road): Road pavement repair work 9 to 0 December, 8am to 5pm. Expect delays of up to 5 minutes.

SH6 Winton–Lorneville Highway (south of Thompsons Crossing): Chipsealing on 10 December, 7am to 8pm. Expect delays of up to 5 minutes

SH94 Te Anau to Mossburn (at The Key): A road rebuild will continue until 19 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 Milford Highway (at Sinclair Road): Road rebuild work will continue until 19 December, 7am to 6pm. Expect delays of up to 10 minutes.

SH94 Te Anau to Eglington Valley in the Lake Gunn area: Damaged tree removal from near the highway is being carried out this week between 8am and 5pm. The work is to keep those using the highway safe. While traffic management is in place to keep vehicles moving, consider allowing for 5-to-10-minute delays in your travel plans.

Work on key state highways across Southland

SH1 Invercargill to Bluff (south of Clifton): A road rebuild will continue until 19 December, 8am to 6pm. Expect delays of up to 10 minutes.

SH1 Invercargill to Bluff (Awarua to Bluff): Road pavement repair work 8 to 9 December, 8am to 5pm. Expect delays of up to 5 minutes.

SH6 Lumsden to Five Rivers highway just north of the SH94 turn off: Chip seal resurfacing, 9 December, 7am to 8pm. Expect delays of up to 5 minutes. 

SH90 near Gore (between Waikaka Valley and Cunningham Roads): A two-stage road rebuild is underway. Stage one runs until 19 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

SH94 Waimea Highway (Croydon to Mandeville): High-pressure water cutting to improve road surface grip and skid resistance will take place from 8 to 12 December, 5am to 4.30pm. Expect delays of up to 5 minutes.

SH96 Nightcaps to Ohai Highway (near Forest Road): Road rebuild work will take place from 6 to 19 December, 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