 Construction of this section of motorway is considered by some people to have been a causal factor of the Abbotsford Landslide in 1979.Around the same time, construction began on the section traversing Saddle Hill, from Mosgiel to Fairfield.Earthworks were undertaken to allow for the construction of a four-lane motorway with northbound and southbound slip lanes extending from a future interchange with SH87 at Mosgiel.