The autumn rockfall scaling programme at the Nevis Bluff - on SH6 between Cromwell and Queenstown - will get underway next week, Waka Kotahi New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) says.

The rock scaling occurs every autumn and spring with abseilers, suspended on ropes, inspecting the rocky face and removing loosened rocks that are hazardous to highway users many metres below.

Motorists should expect some traffic delays during this work, which is scheduled to take place over three weeks from Monday (May 5) through to Friday (May 23), 8am to 5pm weekdays, subject to weather conditions.

“People should be ready for delays up to about ten minutes and allow some extra travel time for journeys between Cromwell and Queenstown,” NZTA Central Otago maintenance and contract manager Peter Standring said.

Wayo Carson, one of the most experienced rock scalers working on the Nevis Bluff, doing an extensometer measurement in 2021 (an extensometer provides an accurate measuring tape in millimetres to four decimal places).

“We know these delays can be frustrating, but we’re asking people to be patient and to understand that they are necessary to ensure their safety, which is our number one concern.”

Abseilers working over the rocky schist faces aim to release rock, loosened by the ongoing erosion, in a controlled way when there is no traffic on the highway.

The work is part of NZTA’s ongoing monitoring and management programme for the Nevis Bluff, which is continuously monitoring movement and changes on the geologically complex bluff.

The Nevis Bluff is about half way between Cromwell and Queenstown.

Work on the cycle trail, currently under construction, will be paused for a few days while the abseilers are overhead.

NZTA said in thanks everyone for their patience and for taking care while this safety work is completed leading into the busy winter period.

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PHOTOS: NZTA