Trucking boss worried for staff making U-turns on State Highway 2 between Tauranga and Katikati

The median barriers were installed on SH2 between Katikati and Ōmokoroa in 2020. Photo / David Hall

A trucking company boss says he is worried about his drivers’ safety as median barriers on State Highway 2 near Tauranga force them into difficult manoeuvres.

It comes as Wright Rd residents continue their battle against the barriers, which prevent right turns on and off the highway to the rural road.

The barriers were installed on SH2 between Katikati and Ōmokoroa in 2020.

Residents have continued to protest them but NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi says they remain for the safety of the 15,000 vehicles travelling the route each day.

Bruce Porter of trucking company BR and SL Porter Ltd – Transport and Storage said the median barriers stopped right turns in and out of Aongatete businesses along SH2.

Local businesses say the median barriers are causing difficulties. Photo / David Hall

His drivers often travelled to and from SH2 winery The Wine Portfolio and, without being able to turn right, trucks had to perform several manoeuvres to get on to the road. He was concerned about their safety.

“We can go into the winery from the Tauranga side, however, there is no way we can exit this site with large vehicles going towards the Katikati way due to the Armco railing.”

After getting back on to the highway, they had to drive a further couple of kilometres before they could make a U-turn at the next roundabout.

The median barriers on State Highway 2 in Aongatete. Photo / David Hall

Porter said the roundabouts were tight, “especially when the units are 23m long and the wheels are up sitting around the centre of the roundabout, which is not good for the vehicle and it’s not good for the road”.

“And they haven’t taken into account that the new vehicles are longer”.

Porter said it was also challenging to stay within the lane, which made it dangerous.

He once witnessed a car leaving a driveway and travelling down the wrong side of the road.

The driver would have had to drive a further 6km if they had gone the right way, Porter said.

“I feel sorry for those people.”

The road changes had created a financial burden for the trucking company, Porter said.

“It’s costing us roughly $4 a kilometre, so we’re back $8 off the bottom line before fuel tax, wages and everything else.

“We might go there three to four or five times a day, that starts adding up.”

In response to Porter’s concerns, an NZTA spokesperson said: “As a key corridor for the Port of Tauranga, all roundabouts and safety improvements between Waihī and Ōmokoroa were designed to accommodate large trucks.

“The roundabouts have a 36m outside diameter which enables the turning of a high productivity motor vehicle (HPMV) 25m truck-trailer unit.

”State Highway 2 is a limited access highway, so anyone with a driveway on to the highway needs to provide an access that is fit for purpose for the vehicles that will use it and must ensure their driveway can accommodate the movements of delivery vehicles.”

The NZTA board decided in August to stop the installation of further median barriers on the stretch of highway.

Other safety improvements, such as the installation of two roundabouts and widening centrelines, continued.

The board decided all other improvements should remain as the safety of the 15,000 vehicles travelling this road daily was “paramount”.

Road users were growing about 2% to 3% each year.

”Throughout the lifetime of this project, there have been multiple rounds of engagement and consultation with the community.”

Wright Rd residents not giving up

Safety and financial concerns have been raised by Wright Rd businesses and residents who said they were making a fourth attempt to meet with NZTA.

Wright Rd community group representative Rochelle Zajko said all attempts so far have been ignored, but NZTA said it had engaged with the community since 2017 and had made adjustments to its plans.

In an email to NZTA, seen by SunLive, Zajkpo said the residents urgently wanted to meet with NZTA.

“Due to serious safety concerns for residents [and] detrimental impacts on our local economy, the road section is now more unsafe than when it had previous right-hand-turn improvement.”

The median barriers on State Highway 2 in Aongatete. Photo / David Hall

In response to the residents, an NZTA spokesperson said there had been multiple rounds of engagement and consultation with the community, businesses, emergency services and industry groups since the safety improvements project between Waihī and Ōmokoroa began in 2017.

“The NZTA board has already reconsidered plans and changed the scope of the project considerably as a result,” the spokesperson said.

The board’s decision was based on examining the evidence presented for a range of options.

The spokesperson said NZTA was aware of the range of views in the community about the changes and that not everyone was satisfied with the decision.

“But the board has determined this approach appropriately balances travel impacts for local journeys and safety for all road users.”

The spokesperson confirmed NZTA would continue to assess the safety of the road corridor as part of the improvement project.

• This story has been updated with extra comment from NZTA.

- SunLive