People who normally drive south of Ashburton in the evening or early hours of the morning need to plan around some night-time bridge closures, says NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA).

The work starts this Sunday night, 9 March and will close the Rangitata River bridge initially, followed by the Hinds River bridge. Both bridge decks are being re-surfaced.  Detours will be in place for both sites.

Detour for light vehicles and HPMV, not Oversized

Drivers of light vehicles and HPMV will be able to take the detour route around the bridges, adding half an hour or so to the travel time, however it is not suitable for Oversized vehicles.

• All traffic required to stay on the highway (eg including Oversize or permit-restricted) will be allowed across at midnight for 30 minutes, but otherwise SH1 will be closed at the bridge from 8pm to 6am.
• The detour route will be operating for all other drivers all night.
• The milling machine and paver take up space on the bridge, hence the restrictions around bridge access during this work.

Work will run from Sunday 9 March to Friday 14 March, 8pm to 6am, each night.

Rangitata River Bridge: Closed overnight only, March 9-12, 8pm to 6am: Sunday night, Monday night, Tuesday night, and Wednesday night. 

• DETOUR: Southbound traffic - turn right onto Dalmaine St, left onto Hinds Arundel Rd, left onto Route 72 Arundel Rakaia Gorge Rd, left onto SH79 Rangitata-Orari Bridge Hwy, then back onto SH1 (detour route will take about 30 minutes). Or consider continuing south through Geraldine and along Route 72 to Winchester and back onto SH1. Reverse for northbound traffic.

Hinds River Bridge: Closed overnight only, March 13-14, 8pm to 6am: Thursday night, and Friday night.

• DETOUR: Southbound traffic – turn left onto Longbeach Rd, right onto Poplar Rd, right onto Isleworth Rd, them back onto SH1 (detour route will take about 25 minutes). Reverse for northbound traffic.

Changes to the schedule:

This work is weather dependent so check the NZTA Journeys or Travel pages for any updates: https://www.journeys.nzta.govt.nz/highway-conditions/canterbury