Police are keeping a close eye on motorists on Cardrona Valley Rd after receiving a complaint about speeding vehicles from a roadworks contractor operating in the area.
Senior Sergeant Allan Grindell, of Wanaka, said Fulton Hogan staff complained to police yesterday morning about motorists driving through the roadworks at speeds far exceeding the 30kmh speed-limit signs in place on Cardrona Valley Rd.
A police officer was sent to monitor the area and issued six speeding tickets within two hours, with the average speed about 60kmh, Snr Sgt Grindell said.
"There's quite a lot of gravelling going on so it's quite dangerous, the speed, with people working there.
"We certainly will be tasking patrols up there daily ... we will be actively enforcing that 30kmh speed restriction."
More than two-thirds of the offending drivers were tourists, but there were "a few locals who will obviously try to push it" too.
Roadworks began on the Crown Range and Cardrona Valley Rd on January 9. Work is being carried out next to Chain Bay 5 on the Queenstown side of the Crown Range and at two sites on Cardrona Valley Rd on either side of the Cardrona township.
There are two other sites on the Wanaka side of the Crown Range that will also be completed during the course of the project.
The work is scheduled to be completed by the beginning of April.
• There will be major delays of up to an hour on the Crown Range on Tuesday, January 31, between 10am and 2pm. The quickest route during that time period will be via Cromwell on State Highway 6. The delays will be signposted on both ends of the Crown Range.
