Lake Taupō highway woes continue at Bulli Pt: Truckies forced to co-ordinate movements

Taupō-based linehaul driver Greg Walker talks about the dangers of Bulli Pt for truck drivers. Photo / Dan Hutchinson

Truck drivers and other users of State Highway 1 south of Taupō are calling for decisive action to improve safety at Bulli Pt.

The state of the road was “very dangerous” and “totally ridiculous”, said truck driver Greg Walker.

Sharp bends, poor camber of the road and overhanging cliffs made for treacherous driving, particularly for larger vehicles, he said.

The cliff face overhung so much across parts of the road that two trucks were unable to safely pass one another, meaning drivers had to co-ordinate their timing carefully to avoid accidents or road blockages.

The only option, he said, was for drivers to radio their positions and coordinate timings so trucks could safely cross the centre line without hitting another large vehicle.

Walker has been driving the Taupō to Wellington route five nights a week for the last 11 years.

He said the volume of traffic, combined with the size of trucks, made the journey potentially very dangerous.

“You have to be on your guard every night going through there. Most of us use CB [radios] to communicate when we’re going through.

“You’re completely on guard. Anything can happen around that stretch of road. It’s not fit for today’s traffic.”

There was no sign of relief on the horizon, with Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency’s planned works not slated to begin until 2024 at the earliest.

Krill oil and milk powder escapes into Lake Taupō after a truck crashes off SH1 at Te Poporo/Bulli Point. Photo / Waikato Regional Council

In May, $4 million was announced in the 2023 Budget for a project to build two retaining walls close to the Bulli Point corner.

Then-Transport Minister Michael Wood said the retaining walls and other “resilience projects” were ready to begin immediately.

However, Rob Campbell, Waka Kotahi’s regional manager of maintenance and operations for the Bay of Plenty and Waikato, said the works were unlikely to begin for some time.

“Scope and timing of this work is currently being confirmed, but work is likely to begin in 2024/25.”

There is a general election looming in October, but the project has yet to register much interest with either of the major political parties.

Labour has yet to announce its transport intentions should it be re-elected, and National’s recently-revealed “Transport for the Future” policy did not include the stretch of road on its priority list of “roads of national significance”.

Freight, tourism and commuters compete for space on State Highway 1 at Bulli Pt, Taupō. Photo / Dan Hutchinson

National and Taupō MP Louise Upston said the Taupō to Waiōuru stretch of SH1 had been added to National’s “list for further investigation”.

“National will task NZTA with working with the Taupō District Council to progress investigations into this notorious stretch of road.

“We have seen multiple accidents along this stretch of SH1.”

The latest accident on July 5 saw a log truck leave the road at Bulli Pt, with only dense roadside scrub preventing the truck from falling off the cliff into the lake. The highway was closed for a day while salvage crews recovered the truck and trailer and then another day to recover the logs.

Nine months earlier, another truck crashed near Bulli Pt, spectacularly spilling a load of bright orange krill oil into the lake, along with meat and dairy products.

Fortunately, no one was seriously injured in either incident, but locals and frequent drivers on the stretch are concerned that further injuries, and fatalities, were only a matter of time.

Waka Kotahi's Crash Analysis System shows the significant number of incidents between Hatepe (top right) and Te Rangiita (bottom left) since 2000. Image / Waka Kotahi

A search of Waka Kotahi’s Crash Analysis System Data showed that, along the roughly 10-kilometre-long lake edge stretch of State Highway 1 including Bulli Point, there have been 284 reported crashes since 2000.

This included nine fatal crashes and 22 serious ones.

However, Walker said not all accidents were reported, so the likely number in the area was much higher.

“I’ve seen trailers jammed up against the rock,” he said.

“Just two days ago I saw a driver smash his cab to pieces. There’s accidents there every day that are unrecorded. It’s an absolutely treacherous stretch of road.”

An oily cloud of water, krill oil and milk powder expands into Lake Taupō from the crash site at Te Poporo/Bulli Point. Photo / Waikato Regional Council

Annabel McCallum, who owns a bach at Jellicoe Point, said her family had multiple concerns about the road.

They included vehicle crashes, tourists risking their safety by parking at Bulli Point and walking along the road, and pollution of the lake from truck accidents.

“The road between Bulli Point and Hallets Bay is diabolical,” McCallum said.

“It’s not fit to be State Highway 1 because of how narrow it is and how windy it is.

“We usually hear [accidents]; the rumble and scrunch of trucks going off, then we live with the consequences when they close the road.

“It’s just such a dangerous piece of road.”

Both Walker and McCallum said the planned works would not address the significant safety concerns on the road.

Each said that re-routing the road inland was the only way to improve safety for all road users, as well as shield from the economic impacts of road closures during works and after accidents.