Lumsden businesses are expected to take a hit next week as the main road is closed to through traffic.

Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency is closing SH6 between Josephville-St Patrick’s Road while a culvert is replaced on the Lumsden side of Josephville Hill.

A detour will be in place, forcing traffic on the Queenstown-Invercargill route to use the Dipton-Castlerock Road, SH94 / Mossburn-Lumsden highway.

The works are planned to start on Monday, 19 September, and should be completed by the following Monday, 26 September, weather permitting.

Access to businesses in Dipton and Lumsden remains open during this time, but some business owners anticipate they'll have far fewer customers.

Greg Tither, owner of Lumsden Four Square, says: "Probably half of our trade will be gone.

"That's from the through-traffic, the contractors, truckies, people going to the lakes for a few days with the boat and caravan. All that trade will be bypassing us.

"We did manage to have a meeting with the construction and roading guys, and with the size of the works and where it is on the road, there doesn't seem to be many other options.

"So, we'll just have to suck it up."

Tither, who's owned the store for nine years, says a couple of his staff have taken some holiday leave.

"But there's not much else you can do to reduce your costs, you've still got staff, power and all your associated costs for the week. There's nothing you can do to soften the blow."

It's the second time this year that the road has been closed, the last time for a weekend so that a stock underpass could be put in halfway up the hill.

Chris Paama, of Lumsden's Bafe Bakery, is expecting a little disruption but says it is minor compared to the loss of business from Covid-19.

"We've been here 18 years and that's easily been the biggest problem," Paama says. "We're not recovering yet, it's been our worst year ever.

"Queenstown is busy, but that's Queenstown - sometimes people forget about the little towns like Lumsden and Mossburn and whatnot.

"So, road closures won't make much of a difference. That can happen anywhere and it's just one of those things that needs to be done."

Nicole Felts, Waka Kotahi Journey Manager, says the closure is necessary due to the size and scope of the work, with a significant amount of earth needing to be moved.

"The large size of the pipe - 2.5 metres wide - requires a five-metre deep excavation and therefore a similarly wide safety zone – the full width of the road," Felts says.

"As the site is on a hill and on a bend, with limited shoulders on each side, there is no room to build a temporary bypass road in this area.

"While the highway is closed in this location, contractors will use the opportunity to start the renewal work on Josephville Hill and complete routine maintenance activities to reduce future disruption as much as possible.

"We realise the closure is inconvenient for residents and road users. However, the weather we have seen this past winter reinforces just how important this work is for maintaining and protecting the state highway network. We want to thank residents and road users for their patience while this critical work is completed."

The detour is open to light and heavy vehicles (50Max HPMV).