The Kawarau Gorge Trail is nearing completion, but a highway crossing remains a hurdle, with users required to cross State Highway 6 at road level while an underpass proposal is still under consideration.

With less than one kilometre of trail left to be formed, contractors have returned to site and are now in the final stages of construction through the Kawarau Gorge.

Southern Lakes Trails said months of complex foundation work had been completed, allowing the project to move into its next phase.

Attention is now turning to installing key structures along the route, including suspension bridges, bluff bridges and fixed bridges.

Much of this infrastructure has been prefabricated off site and will be assembled in the gorge.

From March, a final surface coating will be applied to the 13-kilometre backcountry section of the trail, using helicopter access.

Specialist climbing gear and helicopters have opened access to challenging construction sites along the gorge. Images: Supplied/Geoff Ellis

Safety barriers and signage will be installed once surfacing is complete.

Meanwhile, a New Zealand Transport Agency spokesperson said, while its contractors had been working "around the difficult Nevis Bluff section of the highway", the location of a proposed underpass linking the new trail with the existing Gibbston River Trail was still being assessed.

Costs and timeframes for the underpass have yet to be determined.

Until they are, the spokesperson said "the new trail will cross the highway at a location where trail users will have a good view of approaching traffic, enabling them to cross the highway safely”.

They said warning signage would also be installed to alert motorists to cyclists in the area.

Southern Lakes Trails said the Kawarau Gorge Trail would form a key connection within the wider regional network, linking Queenstown Airport with Central Otago.

The trust held information sessions in December with local businesses expected to be affected by the trail’s opening.

It said there had been interest from the community in supporting a user-supported funding model for the region’s off-road trail network.

An official opening date for the Kawarau Gorge Trail has yet to be confirmed.

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