Southern motorists should expect delays between Dunedin and Port Chalmers over five weekends starting this Saturday

Rail re-alignment work is needed to accommodate the new shared use path being built between St Leonards and Port Chalmers on State Highway 88.

Waka Kotahi senior project manager Jason Forbes says to do this work safely, they need to reduce the highway to a single lane for up to a kilometre along St Leonards Drive.

He says people will need to add an extra five minutes for their journey, day and night, while work is underway.