KEY POINTS:
Central Otago motorists can expect delays on State Highway 6 in the Kawarau Gorge from tomorrow as Transit New Zealand widens the road.
Traffic would be restricted to a single lane near the Roaring Meg, about 15km west of Cromwell, and motorists should expect delays of about 10 minutes, Transit Central Otago area engineer John Jarvis said.
Safety work required rock to be removed from beside and above the road.
"This is one of the narrowest parts of the Kawarau Gorge where large scale excavation is not possible due to hillside instability," Mr Jarvis said.
"So we are endeavouring to carefully remove and scale back sections of protruding rock to help improve the width of the road, particularly for large vehicles such as trucks and buses," he said.
Rock removal work scheduled to start tomorrow was expected to be completed by February 29.
Mr Jarvis said delays could be expected between 8am and 5pm daily from Monday to Friday.
- NZPA
