Motorists travelling between Cromwell and Queenstown should expect extra delays on State Highway 6 as emergency slip repairs are added to an already busy stretch of road through the Kawarau Gorge. 

Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) said heavy rain had caused “multiple slips within the gorge”. 

Stop-go traffic management is in place, with delays of up to 15 minutes at each site. 

“The emergency works are to address multiple slips within the gorge following the recent weather event that hit the country,” the agency said in a statement on Wednesday (October 29).  

“Several slips are currently blocking the eastbound lane.” 

The emergency work adds to planned resilience upgrades already under way at Scrubby Corner, where road users are facing another 15-minute delay. 

There is also rock scaling and blasting work at Nevis Bluff, which is causing further short-term closures of up to 10 minutes during the day. 

“While the roading teams are working as hard as they can to clear slips and to minimise disruption to traffic as they do so, all of this work means significant cumulative delays through the area,” the agency said. 

Motorists are advised to allow extra time for travel through the gorge, the main link for commuters and travellers between Cromwell and Queenstown. 

Further south, road users are also being warned about a wash-out and sinkhole that has opened up at the Devils Staircase section of State Highway 6 beside Lake Wakatipu.  

The road is currently down to one lane under temporary traffic signals. 

“Depending on what the work at Devils Staircase uncovers, there could be further traffic disruption at this site,” NZTA said. 

Read more: Blast off from today at Nevis Bluff Stay up to date on The Central App Roads report.

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