The blessing, led by Ngati Tahu-Ngati Whaoa, calls for guidance and protection over the work and the people involved. Photo / Supplied
The blessing, led by Ngati Tahu-Ngati Whaoa, calls for guidance and protection over the work and the people involved. Photo / Supplied
Work to make State Highway 1 between Piarere and Taupō safer will get under way this month, after an iwi blessing of the worksite last week
The blessing, led by Ngāti Tahu-Ngāti Whaoa, signals the beginning of the first stage of safety improvements on this section of SH1 and will have flexible median safety barriers and roadside safety barriers installed on the 4.5km stretch of SH1 between Maroa and Tram Rds south of Ātiamuri.
Higgins Contractors has been awarded the contract following a tender. Site investigations will begin this month with physical works starting in June, and will take about eight months to complete.
Waka Kotahi director regional relationships Waikato-Bay of Plenty David Speirs said the safety improvements are part of Road to Zero – New Zealand's road safety strategy - a vision of zero deaths and serious injuries on our roads.
Flexible median safety barriers and roadside safety barriers are being installed on the 4.5km stretch of SH1 between Maroa and Tram Rds south of Atiamuri. Image / Supplied
"These upgrades will mean the road is more forgiving if someone makes a mistake." Road safety barriers help keep vehicles on the road, out of opposing lanes, and protect road users from roadside hazards like power poles and trees.
Between 2015 and 2019, 30 people were killed and 46 people were seriously injured on this 58km stretch of state highway from Piarere to Taupō.
In the next stage of the project, flexible median safety barriers and roadside safety barriers will be installed on the 6.9km section of state highway from Ātiamuri Bridge to Thorpe Rd, subject to funding.
"We're continuing to engage with iwi, partners and stakeholders on the design for this next stage. Further safety improvements between Piarere and Taupō will follow during the next 10 years, after feasibility work is completed and funding allocated, " Speirs said.
Meanwhile, work to resurface a significant section of SH1 near Maungatautari Rd south of Cambridge changed from night to daytime work this week as night temperatures start to drop below the threshold allowed for laying asphalt.
Resurfacing of a section of SH1 near Maungatautari Rd south of Cambridge has changed from night to daytime work. Photo / Supplied
The resurfacing follows tree felling last week to remove a stand of trees that posed a risk to road users, Waka Kotahi said.
Waka Kotahi acknowledges there were delays to road users when SH1 was fully closed to allow the tree felling to take place safely. To minimise disruption to road users while the surfacing work takes place, only southbound traffic will be detoured off SH1 between 9am and 4pm, Monday to Friday.
Traffic will be diverted via Karapiro Rd, Taotaoroa Rd and State Highway 29. Northbound traffic will continue to use SH1 as normal, with a temporary speed limit in place to ensure the safety of crew and road users. This work is expected to take up to two weeks to complete, weather permitting.
In conjunction with this work, the installation of 1.6km of median barrier will start on Sunday, May 15, with work taking place at night between 7pm and 6am. Stop/go traffic management will be in place, with an associated temporary speed limit.
This installation follows the installation of 2.5km median barrier between Fergusson Gully Rd and Keeleys Reserve in December 2020. Waka Kotahi has seen the value of this installation already, with the barrier hit 40 times over the past 18 months – that's 40 potential head-on crashes that have been avoided. Through this work, the northbound passing lane will also be removed.
