Expect to see more high-vis road crews and traffic managers repairing and re-sealing highways and keeping crews and road users safe around Mid and South Canterbury from now into the New Year.

“Give them a friendly wave,” says Simon Harty, Journey Manager for the NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA) in Canterbury. “We are all human and working in some extreme conditions, on hot nor-westerly days, over the summer.”

He says that most road maintenance can only happen over the summer months, as the increased daylight hours, warmer temperatures and dry air are needed for the chip seal surfacing to stick to the pavements below.

”Our crews – contractors and sub-contractors – have a tight schedule, working through extremely variable conditions over summer. We all appreciate people building in extra time to reduce stress when the highways are getting busy.”

In South and Mid-Canterbury, road users will benefit from 10 lane km of full reconstruction (ie 5km two lane highway) and 68 lane km resurfaced to make the journey smoother and safer. 

“If travelling locally, people can build in an extra 20 minutes to their journeys which will help ease the pressure and reduce the temptation to make up the time if there is a short delay. This is safer for everyone – yourself and your passengers and other road users,” says Mr Harty.

“If travelling further afield, say between Christchurch and Timaru, you could be delayed by up to an hour overall, with multiple work sites and cumulative delays encountered while everyone is working to get their maintenance programmes completed in the fine weather.”

All work is funded through the State Highway Maintenance and Pothole Prevention activity classes in the National Land Transport Programme (NLTP).