Motorists should prepare for a lengthy detour or avoid travel when State Highway 6 near Queenstown is closed overnight from Sunday evening.
Photo: 123RF
Maintenance work is scheduled for the Kawarau Gorge for four consecutive nights to reseal and upgrade the line-markings.
The full closure is between 10pm and 5am from Sunday until Wednesday.
Traffic will be escorted at set times during a partial closure between 8pm and 10pm. They include 8.30pm and 9.30pm from Goldfield Mining Centre and 9pm and 10pm from Victoria Flats.
Only passenger vehicles could use the Crown Range, but this detour roughly doubled the expected travel time between Cromwell and Queenstown.
There was no alternative route for heavy or over-dimension vehicles.
Waka Kotahi Central Otago senior network manager Robert Choveaux said a full closure was unavoidable due to the challenging gorge location and the nature of the work.
"Everyone who drives, or who has driven through the Kawarau Gorge will understand the challenges we face. There are particularly narrow stretches of road, significant drops to the Kawarau River and multiple winding corners to navigate," he said.
"We want to ensure the safety of our staff and maintenance contractors doing the work - closing the road fully helps us do this. A full closure allows us to manage quality control and focus on the task at hand.
"This is when we have the least traffic on our network so it makes sense to minimise disruption for all road users as much as we can."
Further updates would be provided via https://www.journeys.nzta.govt.nz/traffic