Fatal wrong-way motorway crash prompts permanent road closure

The access to Cornish St from State Highway 2 is being closed to prevent future crashes. Image / Google Maps

An accessway has been permanently closed after a driver used it to enter a Wellington highway from the wrong direction, causing a fatal crash.

Two people died and two were badly injured in the early morning crash in January last year, which happened after the car travelled 10km in the wrong direction on the Wellington Urban Motorway.

Lisale Foaese, 76, and George Foaese, 41, who were in the offending vehicle, both died at the scene, while the occupants of the other car, Genna Te Kahika and her brother Jeremy, were taken to Wellington Hospital in a critical condition.

Now the accessway the driver used to get on to the motorway is being permanently closed to prevent similar crashes happening again.

Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency and Hutt City Council have agreed to close access to Cornish St in Petone from SH2 to improve the safety of the area.

They have been making changes to SH2 to make it safer as part of the Road to Zero safety strategy.

Changes ranged from small, short term fixes to large improvements, said Waka Kotahi's regional manager of maintenance and operations, Mark Owen.

"The Cornish Street access is hidden around a corner after the Petone offramp, and has only a short, narrow turning lane.

"In 2021, a driver used the access to join the highway in the wrong direction, towards Wellington, ending in a fatal crash. By changing the road layout we can prevent it happening again."

Access to businesses, and to the Cornish St gate of Belmont Regional Park will be available via Priests Avenue, 500m further north on SH2.

The decision to close the access follows discussion with local businesses. Access will be closed from April 19.

An interim closure will be put in place at first, with permanent safety barriers installed at a later date.