Three large safety improvement projects are planned for Southland highways, starting this week.
Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) is urging drivers to plan ahead as work begins on the projects.
The locations are: the Lorneville roundabout, north of Invercargill, at the intersection of State Highways6, 98 and 99; State Highway 6-North Rd, Invercargill, on the southern approach to Lorneville roundabout; and State Highway 6 in Winton township.
NZTA Southland highway maintenance contract manager Justin Reid said the work included resurfacing of the highways and the application of new road markings to improve safety for motorists, as well as work to improve pedestrian safety at the Lorneville roundabout.
While this work was essential to improve safety for road users, it also had the potential to be disruptive due to the number of days required for the work and the extensive use of traffic management to keep both road crews and drivers safe, Mr Reid said.
"Crews will be hard at work to resurface the busy SH6-98-99 Lorneville roundabout near Invercargill from Monday [February 13] until Friday [February 24], with a full 24/7 closure of the highway during this time.
"People heading from State Highway 99, Wallacetown-Lorneville highway, on to State Highway 6, Winton-Lorneville highway [northbound], and in the reverse direction, will continue through the roundabout, but under stop/go traffic management," he said.
Work to resurface State Highway 6-North Rd, south of the Lorneville roundabout, will be carried out from February 21 to March 7.
Overnight closures of North Rd, from West Plains Rd to the Lorneville roundabout, between 6pm-6am will be necessary for the work. The highway will be open during the day.
The final upgrade job in the area will involve resurfacing State Highway 6-Great North Rd, in Winton, between Bute St and Welsh Rd, with work to be undertaken in stages from March 10 to April 6.
Southbound traffic is unaffected but subject to speed restrictions.
A detour will operate for northbound traffic and, where necessary, side roads will be closed through the town.
The dates for this work are all weather dependent.
