Ruapehu mayor calls for Horopito speed limit reduction during Desert Rd closure

Ruapehu Mayor Weston Kirton (right) with Horopito residents (from left) Jennifer Zampese, Elsbeth Bloem, Mary Wood, Carel Sietses and Martin Wood on SH4. Photo / Supplied

Horopito residents are calling for a 30km/h speed reduction around the Ruapehu settlement after a “massive increase” in traffic after the temporary closure of the Desert Rd.

State Highway 4 (SH4), which passes through Horopito, is the official detour route and has a speed limit of 100km/h in the area.

Before the closure on January 13, weekday traffic on SH4 averaged 2647 vehicles, according to NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA).

During the first week of the detour, this jumped to 7149 vehicles and increased further to 7730 in the second week.

“This massive increase highlights the scale of the issue and why Horopito residents are rightly concerned,” Ruapehu Mayor Weston Kirton said.

He said things were “really going well” for businesses along the detour but heavy traffic was causing concerns among Ruapehu residents.

“Mananui School, [near] where I live, has issues about dropping off kids when [vehicle] numbers have increased dramatically.

“At Horopito, there is no widening of the highway to any great degree except for one intersection.”

He said NZTA had dropped the speed limit near and through Ohakune (SH49) from 70km/h to 50km/h during the Desert Rd closure.

“The community was quite strong on reducing the speed there.

“They [NZTA] did it without any real fuss but have clamped up about other hotspots.”

NZTA regional manager of maintenance and operations for Waikato/Bay of Plenty, Roger Brady, said the agency was aware of the community’s calls for a temporary speed reduction through the area.

“Our crews are monitoring traffic flows in this area and assessing any need for changes to traffic management as a result of the SH1 closure,” he said.

Brady said the speed limit around Ohakune was lowered because it was a built-up area where traffic often stopped.

Roger Brady says NZTA is monitoring traffic in the Horopito area but there are no plans for a speed reduction. Photo / Andrew Warner

“At this stage, there is no plan to formally extend this lower speed further onto SH4,” he said.

“Our indication was that SH1 Desert Road would be closed for eight weeks, and with recent good weather supporting the works, we are on track for a mid-March completion.”

The Desert Rd, a 16km stretch between Waiōuru and Tūrangi, is the final part of NZTA’s plan to complete four years' worth of work on SH1 in 16 months.

Kirton said he met Horopito residents at the Matapuna Road/SH4 intersection “to witness the problem firsthand”.

“They say it feels like Russian roulette every time they need to turn off the highway,” he said.

“The road is not as high-spec as SH1 and we’ve already had incidents around there.”

In August 2023, two people were found dead after a single-vehicle crash on SH4 at Horopito.

If there was a major accident in the area, the road would be closed for hours with no alternative route, Kirton said.

Horopito is located between the Raetihi and Waimarino townships.

Kirton said its growth, role as a tourism hotspot on the Old Coach Road cycle trail and the presence of Smash Palace (Horopito Motors) meant significantly more local traffic.

“Residents feel it is only a matter of time before a turning vehicle is hit from behind, leading to a serious accident and further road closures.”

He said if speed restrictions were not possible, NZTA should at least install temporary digital signage urging extreme caution and warning drivers about the hazard area.

“We are pretty supportive of NZTA doing the work and the reasons behind it, but people are getting a little bit nervous about road safety, speed and trucks.”

Mike Tweed is a multimedia journalist at the Whanganui Chronicle. Since starting in March 2020, he has dabbled in everything from sport to music. At present his focus is local government, primarily the Whanganui District Council.