Safer journey for pedestrians and cyclists under the Tamahere Interchange

Proposed plan for pedestrians and cyclists under the Tamahere Interchange. Photo/Supplied

Work is about to start to improve access and safety under the Tamahere Interchange for pedestrians, cyclists and people on mobility scooters.

Work will get under way on Monday, September 12, with overnight closures planned for the first three weeks.

Raised pedestrian crossings will be installed, including one controlled by a traffic light, and shared paths will be widened and extended. To make way for the wider paths the on-ramp and Airport Rd roundabout will be tweaked to make room.

Jo Wilton, Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency regional manager for infrastructure delivery, says this will create a safer journey for all – including pupils attending Tamahere Model Country School, and Eventide Village residents heading to and from the local shopping centre.

Proposed plan for pedestrians and cyclists under the Tamahere Interchange. Photo/Supplied

The work is going to be delivered in two stages:

The first stage is part of the Hamilton section of the Waikato Expressway and will see CityEdge Alliance (CEA) realign the roundabout and the path under the bridge.

They will also create room for the approaches to the roundabout (left-turning vehicles from SH21 will have a separate lane).

After CEA finishes their work in early 2023, a second contractor will start the safety improvements. These are the raised safety platforms, the shared pathway from SH21 to the on-ramp, the signalised crossing on the on-ramp, and other pavement, drainage and services involved with those improvements.

CEA will start from September 12 and run through to late January 2023, with a break for a week during the Fieldays in late November/early December.

Night works will be required at the start for up to three weeks and also near completion, with overnight detours in place.

The rest of the work will be done under speed restrictions and traffic management. Access for vehicles and path users will be maintained at all times.

The second stage, installing the safety improvements, will start in early 2023 and take about three months.

"Over the last year we have completed the business case to improve the safety of this intersection for all users but particularly for those travelling on foot or by bike," Ms Wilton says.

The business case process pointed to a staged approach:

•Implement the road-level improvements which are about to start

•Monitor the performance of the interchange and levels of benefits

•Monitor progress on the Southern Links project to understand whether this interchange will be bypassed in the future and therefore the need for further separation of vehicles and pedestrians/cyclists.

Ms Wilton says the SH1-Tamahere Interchange opened to traffic in 1995 and is currently under lane closures and speed restrictions while being upgraded to current expressway safety standards.

"Work continues there until October. These are two different projects and a clash was unavoidable unless we waited for the SH1 works to finish. We will do our best to keep disruption to a minimum but road users can expect delays at peak times and we thank people in advance for their patience."

For more information go to:
www.nzta.govt.nz/assets/projects/hamilton/docs/hamilton-section-tamahere-interchange-information-sheet-sept-2022.pdf