Two sections of SH83 west of Kurow have been reduced to one lane, and temporary traffic signals and speed restrictions are in place, while work to move a section of the Kurow-Duntroon Irrigation Company pipeline below road level is under way.
The company was issued an abatement notice by the Waitaki District Council in 2019, because a section of the pipeline west of Kurow blocked the view of the Waitaki River, which breached the company's consent. The pipeline was installed as part of the company's $45million upgrade and expansion.
Senior Constable Peter Scott, of Kurow, started directing traffic manually from about 1pm yesterday, after receiving calls from members of the public reporting problems with traffic backing up in the area.
"It did appear that they [the lights] weren’t synchronised," Snr Const Scott said.
"Cars were building up on the Otematata side of those traffic lights."
Traffic volumes were high because of the long weekend, but no incidents were reported and contractors arrived at the scene to adjust the timing of the lights shortly after, Snr Const Scott said.
NZ Transport Agency Otago Southland journey manager Peter Brown apologised to anyone held up by the traffic signal incident.
The contractor had someone on stand-by in case the traffic signals were vandalised or broke down, and it was fixed relatively quickly, Mr Brown said.
The irrigation pipework maintenance is expected to take until October, and motorists should expect "minor delays", the NZ Transport Agency said.
"Normally single lane traffic signals restrict traffic for up to 10 minutes depending on the length of road involved."
