Arthur’s Pass travellers need to build in a four-hour highway closure this coming Monday while a crane lifts a digger off the Otira Gorge Rock Shelter roof.

The digger has been removing accumulated rockfall over the past four weeks following rockfall onto the SH73 traffic lane, a key route between Canterbury and the West Coast.

The digger retrieval will happen on Monday between 10 am and 2 pm, says NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA).

The Lewis Pass, SH7, via Waipara and Reefton, is the alternative, longer route linking the two regions.

Road blocks will be set up at Otira and Arthur’s Pass on Monday for people who need to wait while this work is completed, outside of the school holiday period.