SH6 Lower Buller Gorge closing for 48 hours at Inangahua Junction and 4 Mile Junction: 4-6 June 2025

15 May 2025

SH6 Lower Buller Gorge will be closed at Inangahua Junction and 4 Mile Junction from 7:00 am on Wednesday 4 June until 7:00 am on Friday 6 June 2025. 

This is to replace a culvert five kilometres east from 4 Mile Junction at the intersection of SH6 and 67 in the Lower Buller Gorge which has come to the end of its life. A new larger capacity pipe will be installed.
Road working teams will work in shifts non-stop over the 48 hours to complete the work.

Traffic impacts 

  • Roadblocks will be in place at Inangahua Junction and 4 Mile Junction, but residents will have access as long as they are on their side of the culvert as no traffic can cross the trench during the 48-hour closure.
  • The detour is via SH69 to Reefton, SH7 to Greymouth, SH6 Coast Road and reverse.

  • The decision to close a state highway is not taken lightly, we considered the option of opening the road at certain times of the day. Our priority is to ensure the teams on site are safe, as well as road users.

  • Because of the width and the depth of the trench, we can’t safely create the space for traffic to pass the excavation while the work is underway. The heavy machinery being used to install the culvert will take up the whole road width and to open the road, we would need to remove all machinery, trucks and shore up an 8 m trench to make it safe for traffic. This would use up a lot of the hours needed to complete the work and would add significant delays to work.

  • Fully closing the road means the work is done in the safest way and in the shortest possible time, minimising the overall disruption to road users, residents, and local businesses.

  • The timing of the closure has been considered, it is in the shoulder season for the tourism industry and in between King's Birthday and Matariki holiday but before the worst of the winter weather.

NZ Transport Agency/Waka Kotahi apologises for any disruption and thanks road users for their patience

For further details visit www.journeys.nzta.govt.nz/traffic