Night closures for Frankton's BP roundabout

The intersection of State Highway 6 and 6A in Frankton at the BP roundabout will close for three nights next week with a detour in place for drivers.

In a statement this afternoon Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency says the closure is to allow for investigative work related to underground utilities.

"Local streets will be used as the overnight detour, suitable for all vehicles, while this work is underway."

The intersection is at the centre of big changes in store for the main roads in the area that are part of the government agency's New Zealand Upgrade Programme, and next week's nighttime work will "help inform" the design of what's to come.

"Crews will excavate a number of narrow trenches to confirm the location of utilities and underground services. This is key to improving the accuracy of the designs prior to work starting and will reduce the likelihood of delays during construction.

"Detour signs will direct traffic around Queenstown Airport in both directions, with the detour expected to take drivers about six minutes."

Waka Kotahi has earlier announced the roundabout will be replaced by a traffic-light controlled intersection.

Night-time closures of Frankton's BP roundabout: detour map and details (Image: Waka Kotahi).

The closure is set for next Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday nights, March 21 to 23, from 10pm until 6am.

Residents have been asked not to park on McBride Street or Gray Street to allow detoured traffic to travel through the area easily. 

Access for emergency services and residents will remain, and they will be escorted through the site by crews.

Residents and businesses have been advised to expect some noise, although the expectation is for this to happen "where possible in one go at the start of the nightshift" rather than later in the evening or early morning, the statement says.

Waka Kotahi's regional relationships director James Caygill acknowledges night works are disruptive, particularly for residents in the area, but stresses it is unavoidable in some instances.

“Due to the high traffic volumes through Frankton - up to 25,000 vehicles per day - and restrictions on the state highway it’s not possible to close the road during the day, so these essential works need to be completed at night.

“We considered a partial or stop-go closure but it was ruled out as traffic modelling showed vehicles would move more efficiently via the proposed detour.

“A full closure for three nights means works can be completed more quickly – rather than multiple partial closures over an extended period.”

Other necessary civil construction work will also take place next week at the location to make use of the traffic-free stretch of nights, and this includes installing new cabling, trenching and sealing around the intersection, he says.

Main image (Waka Kotahi): Frankton's BP intersection of the future.