Canterbury drivers are being warned to add time to next week's journeys, with work near Rolleston and repairs south of Kaikoura likely to affect regular commuters and longer-distance travellers.

NZ Transport Agency's latest maintenance schedule covers planned work from Saturday 10 October to Friday 16 October, including night works north of the Hoskyns Road intersection on State Highway 1 at Rolleston.

Crews are due to install 600 metres of bollards along the southbound shoulder on Sunday and Monday nights, with work running from 9pm to 4.30am. Southbound vehicles will use stop-go traffic management, with delays expected to stay under five minutes.

The Rolleston section is part of wider work preparing the southbound side of the highway for widening, utility relocations and a new bridge. NZTA says the southbound lane merge has shifted closer to the Weedons Road interchange, and afternoon peak delays between 4pm and 6pm are already being felt.

North of Christchurch, the Conway River washout repair south of Kaikoura is entering its final stages after July flooding damaged State Highway 1. From Monday, crews will begin tying the rebuilt section into the existing road.

That work will bring around-the-clock stop-go traffic lights and delays of up to 20 minutes, with two lanes expected to be restored in late October if weather and construction conditions allow.

The practical message is simple: this is not the week to assume the usual trip time. Rolleston commuters, freight operators, school-holiday return traffic and anyone heading toward Kaikoura should check the route before leaving and build in a buffer.