With heavy rain continuing today across greater Dunedin, Otago and Southland, NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA) urges drivers to stay home unless travel is absolutely essential and they know their route is passable and safe.

• Rivers and streams can rise fast and catch people out.
• Surface flooding can occur quickly making it hard to judge the road surface, with potholes forming fast.
• A second rain peak is expected midafternoon, continuing well into the evening, says Otago Emergency Management.

“While NZTA crews will be getting out warning signage as fast as they can or closing roads as needed for significant flooding, drivers need to slow down and avoid creating bow waves for nearby properties if they strike patches of surface water,” says NZTA Journey Manager Tresca Forrester.

“Our crews are inspecting the network, including bridges and ensuring any urgent potholes will be managed as water recedes.”

• People should check the highway updates before heading out and their local council, Otago Emergency Management and Dunedin City Council’s pages for local road updates/ Civil Defence advice.

Three state highways currently closed Otago

SH88 between Forsyth Barr Stadium and Port Chalmers: Closed due to a serious slip at Maia affecting properties and the highway, as well as several smaller slips along SH88 and around Parry St.

Please note, the informal detour roads above SH88 aren’t suitable for large, heavy vehicles and unless people have an urgent need to travel, they should keep these routes clear also.

One of the slips on SH88 today closer to Parry St ie not the biggest slip:

SH87 Kyeburn to Hyde (north of Middlemarch): closed due to flooding. Updates: https://www.journeys.nzta.govt.nz/highway-conditions/otago/closures/482674

SH90 Waikoikoi to Tapanui: closed due to flooding. Updates: https://www.journeys.nzta.govt.nz/highway-conditions/otago/closures/482705

• Elsewhere in Otago and Southland people can expect to see slips near highways, debris washed up in places with flooding and surface water.
• Speeds will be reduced in many places where there is flood water up to the road shoulders.
• There may be lane closures on Dunedin’s Southern Motorway (SH1) from Lookout Point to Green Island due to surface flooding.

“Driving will be treacherous in many places,” says Ms Forrester. “Please stay home unless you urgently need to get somewhere. Our crews are hard at work today, getting geotechnical assessments in some places and working with council staff to reopen access as soon as it is safe to do so.”

Please obey any signage and advice on the road: Slow down in flood waters as this causes bow waves into properties and other vehicles.

• Anyone facing an emergency situation should call 111, while people needing flood-related assistance should contact their local council.

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