Road users can expect additional delays at multiple sites on State Highway 6 through Kawarau Gorge, which are likely to last a couple of weeks, as emergency works are heaped on top of the work already planned for the area.

The emergency works are to address multiple slips within the gorge following the recent weather event that hit the country. Several slips are currently blocking the eastbound lane, with multiple minor slips throughout the gorge. There is stop/go traffic management in place with up to 15-minute delays at each site. 

This work on the slips is on top of planned resilience work at Scrubby Corner, which means a further delay of up to 15 minutes for road users.

There is also rock scaling and blasting work at Nevis Bluff, which will hold traffic both ways for up to 10 minutes during the day, and for an hour from 1pm to 2pm today when blasting work is undertaken.

While the roading teams are working as hard as they can to clear slips and to minimise disruption to traffic as they do so, all of this work means significant cumulative delays through the area. Road users should build extra time into their travel plans to accommodate this.

Those travelling in this area should also be aware of a wash-out and sinkhole that has opened up further along SH6 at Devils Staircase, on the shores of Lake Wakatipu. Roading teams are working on fixing this and the road is down to one lane under temporary traffic signals.

Depending on what the work at Devils Staircase uncovers, there could be further traffic disruption at this site.