Man hit by truck while rebuilding Kaikoura highway

A man has been hit by a truck while working on rebuilding Kaikoura's quake-damaged State Highway 1.

The man suffered moderate injuries and was taken to Kaikoura Hospital's emergency department by ambulance, a police spokeswoman said.

Police were made aware of the incident by St John ambulance about 7.30am.

Emergency services attended the work site about 1km north of Rakautara stream, near Halfmoon Bay.

The man, in his 50s, wasn't badly hurt but the incident would be investigated, the police spokeswoman said.

Because it happened on a work site it was not yet clear whether police or WorkSafe would be investigating.

WorkSafe has been approached for comment.

The rebuild was called "the biggest job in New Zealand" by site supervisor Peter Thompson in June.

Nine slips were caused by the magnitude 7.8 earthquake in November 2016, which blocked what was the main route from Picton to Christchurch.

The $1.3 billion project will rebuild road and rail links between Picton and Christchurch.

It is due to open on December 15.