Another death on notorious stretch of Northland Highway

4.00pm

A notorious stretch of Northland highway was the scene of yet another fatal crash today, as holidaymakers swelled traffic volumes on the route.

Police said a person died after a collision between a car and a four-wheel-drive vehicle on State Highway 1 near Waipu around 12.30pm.

Two or three other people were injured but further details were not immediately available.

The crash closed the highway in both directions until about 2pm, when a lane was reopened for southbound vehicles.

Starting next month, Transit New Zealand is to build seven passing lanes, at a cost of $4.6 million, on the stretch of SH1 between the southern outskirts of Whangarei and the SH12 turn-off to Maungaturoto.

The 50km stretch of SH1 accounts for about a quarter of Northland's road deaths. Prior to today's crash, 34 people had died in crashes there in the past four years.

- NZPA

Herald feature: Cutting the road toll

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