'Absolutely atrocious': SH1 detour near Dunedin shut after truck damage

Heavy traffic turned a local road south of Dunedin into a patchwork of potholes within days of it becoming a State Highway 1 detour route, forcing NZTA to shut it for repairs.

NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA) began work on SH1 near Henley and Otokia on September 21 and expected the job to take three months.

Northbound traffic had been diverted onto Centre Road, which runs parallel to SH1, before joining State Highway 86 and returning to the highway.

But the detour lasted less than a week. Centre Road was closed on Friday after traffic, including large trucks, damaged it, and NZTA moved vehicles back onto SH1 while crews fixed the road.

An NZTA spokesperson said in a statement the agency had chosen the route after talks with Dunedin City Council (DCC), which manages the road.

"The decision to use Centre Road as part of the SH1 detour was made by NZTA, in discussion with DCC, but we do note that the state of the road has deteriorated since that decision was made."

The spokesperson said recent wet weather had made the damage worse. Crews started repairs under a road closure yesterday, and the work is expected to continue today before they return to the highway and the detour reopens.

A resident who drives Centre Rd almost every day to take her children to school told 1News she watched the road fall apart after the detour's first day.

"Travelling south towards the airport, there was significant damage along the side of the road almost immediately. You would have to swerve onto the other side of the road to avoid it, and then only about 5 metres later you were faced with another pothole."

She said the road had not been in good condition to begin with.

"But after the truck damage from day one, it was absolutely atrocious. It was not only extremely frustrating, but also concerning from a safety perspective, particularly with the amount of traffic using the road."