Motorists using the Caversham bypass will face a disruption to their evening travel next Thursday, when contractors close the northbound lane to remove a pedestrian overbridge across State Highway 1.
A detour will be put in place by the New Zealand Transport Agency to redirect northbound traffic, right, into Barnes Dr and along South Rd to the Glen underbridge and on-ramp, then back on to the Southern Motorway.
NZTA Caversham bypass project manager Simon Underwood said southbound traffic would remain on SH1, but would experience some delays as contractors work to remove the Goodall St footbridge from across the highway.
"We're not expecting any dramas. The detour we are putting in place is exactly the same as when we first started work on the [four-lane expansion]," he said.
A crane would be brought in to lift the Goodall St footbridge from its supports, Mr Underwood said.
The crane and contractor workers would conduct most of the operation from the northbound lane of the highway, although there would also be some work undertaken on the southbound lane as well, he said.
"We've tried to time it so the evening peak for [homebound] commuters has passed, before the contractors go to work."
The Goodall St overbridge is to be taken off-site to allow engineers to extend the span, before it is replaced at the site by about December, Mr Underwood said.
"We intend to re-use the bridge, but it needs to be extended and also raised to accommodate over-dimension vehicles," Mr Underwood said.
Contractors intend to make the removal of the bridge "quite a quick process" to try to ensure the disruption to traffic is minimal, he said.
The Goodall footbridge removal is part of a $19.5 million first stage of developments to upgrade the Caversham bypass to the Barnes Dr intersection.
The NZTA has recently applied for a requirement of notice from the Dunedin City Council, to amend the existing highway designation for a second stage of safety improvements from the Barnes Dr intersection and west along the Caversham Valley to Lookout Point.
