People travelling between Otira and Arthur’s Pass, the SH73 link between Canterbury and the West Coast, will face delays up to 20 minutes next week, says Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency.

Two essential safety projects will be underway – tree trimming and bridge inspections – 8 am to 5 pm.

Dead or damaged trees, which are liable to fall on the highway, will be felled or trimmed on Monday, Thursday and Friday (11, 14, 15 September), says Moira Whinham, Maintenance Contract Manager for Waka Kotahi on the West Coast.

On Tuesday and Wednesday, bridge inspectors will be checking four bridges between the two alpine settlements, also requiring stops for traffic.

People may be delayed for up to 20 minutes at any of these sites. Manual traffic managers using Stop/Go signs will manage traffic for everyone’s safety.

“Given the narrowness of this stretch of SH73 in the Otira gorge, we will pause traffic on each side of these sites during the daytime,” she says. “The trees need to be felled or trimmed when there is no road traffic nearby. They can then be quickly removed onto the road reserve to break down naturally as requested by the Department of Conservation/Te Papa Atawhai.

“The same will apply to our bridge inspection work, with traffic paused each side while engineers are assessing bridge decks and foundations.”

Thanks to all regular commuters for factoring in extra time for the trip between the Otira and Arthur’s Pass on those three days, she says.

© Scoop Media