Two people have died following a collision between a car and an ambulance in Cambridge.
Video / Caitlan Johnston
NZTA Waka Kotahi says it is considering lowering the speed limit across a stretch of road in the Waikato labelled as a death trap to 80km/h.
The agency said it is advancing the implementation of interim safety measures along State Highway 1 between Cambridge and Piarere after recent fatal accidents triggered appeals for immediate action from local mayors and the community.
If carried out, Waka Kotahi's plan to reduce the speed limit to 80km/h would apply from the end of the 110km/h Waikato Expressway through to Karapiro Rd, which encompasses the site of two recent fatal accidents.
"We anticipate any additional road safety measures will be in place by the end of November and will provide more detail once plans are finalised," said Waka Kotahi regional system design manager Jess Andrew.
Those safety measures include a range of options that include lowering speeds, widening the centre lines, installing additional hit sticks, using variable message signs to highlight key risks and installing speed indicator devices.
Waipā Deputy Mayor Liz Stolwyk said these changes being considered would be welcomed and called on Waka Kotahi to act swiftly on them.
"Things can't stay the same so any change to the status quo will be well received and it would look to me that lowering the speed limit would be a real common-sense solution for the time being until that road can be upgraded.
"We have a real bottleneck there where all the traffic is funnelled into a reduced number of lanes, that could be one reason that we have seen a significant increase in accidents."
A spokesperson for Minister of Transport Michael Wood told the Herald the minister "shares the community's concern about the trauma on this section of the state highway network" and reiterated that Waka Kotahi was prioritising improvements, including installing 4.2km of flexible median barrier in the area.
Since the completion of the Waikato Expressway in July, the volume of traffic using SH1 between Cambridge and Piarere has increased by 10.5 per cent, which equates to 2260 more vehicles using the stretch of road each day.
Stolwyk said it was clear that the road was not up to a standard that is safe for everybody to use.
"This [implementation of safety measures] has to be the start of a journey, for the community to know that the road is going to be upgraded and we are going to see some kind of change."
NZTA Waka Kotahi are advancing the implementation of a number of interim safety measures along SH1, south of Cambridge. Photo / RNZ
Since 2000, the 19km stretch of road that spans to the SH1 and SH29 intersection has claimed 29 lives and 97 people have been seriously injured.
At the time of the crash in October, CEO of the Waikato Chamber of Commerce Don Good said Wood would be responsible if more people died on the road, expressing dismay of Labour's decision to not extend the Waikato Expressway between Cambridge and Piarere when it took Government in 2017.
"I'm calling on the Minister of Transport Michael Wood and Waka Kotahi chief executive Nicole Rosie to come to the Waikato and see this stretch of road for themselves – to see what an absolute death trap it is.
"Wouldn't it be amazing if Minister Wood came out and said, 'We got it wrong. We will start the safety improvements on this northern section in October this year, and we will fund and get the Expressway from Cambridge to Piarere completed with work starting this year as well'."
A letter was also sent to Wood from former Waikato District Mayor Allan Sanson, former Waipā Mayor Jim Mylchreest and Hamilton Mayor Paula Southgate calling for immediate action.
"We know detailed designs and safety improvements are already planned for this part of the State Highway. But the reality is that substantial safety improvements are years away. We need immediate action now; our communities are demanding it and we support their call," the letter read.
