Seafield Road is on track to re-open to traffic tonight, after a three-month project to rebuild a 1.4km segment between Morris Road and the Ashburton Airport.

Group Manager of Infrastructure and Open Spaces Neil McCann said the final sealing had been carried out and contractors had been putting up new signs, marking lines and tidying up the roadsides.

“The road will be closed until those final details are completed, but it’s on track to re-open on Friday night. We know that this rehabilitation has affected a lot of people going to the airport and to ANZCO’s meatworks on Seafield Road and I want to thank them for following the detours and observing other traffic management measures.”

Hoattens Road, a shingle road used to detour traffic, will be graded and metalled once the main traffic is back on Seafield Road.

The Seafield Road rehabilitation is the final piece of work in Council’s summer roading works programme. Council spent $2.4 million rehabilitating about 8.5km of roads, as well as spending $8.2m on resurfacing and maintaining other sealed and unsealed roads.

Winter work will have a focus on unsealed roads, with grading and maintenance metalling to be carried out.

Total roading works this financial year (up to 28 February) include:

• 4,964 km of unsealed grading completed
• 43,435 m3 of maintenance metal placed
• 4,872 potholes repaired
• 16,009 m² of sealed digout repairs
• 7.09 km of sealed road rehabilitation sealed
• 103.9 km of reseals completed