The Clyde Bridge on Earnscleugh Road will have temporary traffic lights installed over the Christmas-New Year period.

They will be set up at both the Earnscleugh and Clyde approaches to the bridge and operating between Wednesday 22 December 2021 and Monday 10 January 2022.

The Central Otago District Council (CODC) would be adding the lights to help control the predicted high number of trail users, as well as the expected increase in holiday traffic, so that everyone could negotiate the bridge safely, CODC Roading Manager James McCallum said.

“At this stage, it is an effective temporary traffic management measure to help deal with those high volumes we are expecting, given the amount of bike traffic being generated from the Dunstan Lake Trail and the Otago Central Rail Trail, along with the usual amount of holiday makers and locals that use the bridge during that period.”

Council had been approved funding for the operation by Waka Kotahi (New Zealand Transport Agency) recently and was investigating longer-term, permanent solutions for the increased use of the bridge, he said.

“Depending on usage, the operation may be re-evaluated, and the timeframe extended out accordingly.”