Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency Director Regional Relationships Linda Stewart says proposed safety improvements include a new roundabout at Mangorei Road, median barriers, turning facilities and safety signs at Junction Street.

“There were 77 crashes on this section of the highway between 2016 and 2020, resulting in nine serious injuries.”

The improvements will make the Mangorei Road intersection safer and help prevent head on-crashes on the busy commuter route. 

“We look forward to providing the community with an update on the investigation and design work later in the year and hearing their feedback on the draft designs,” says Ms Stewart. 

Following work to identify safety improvements between New Plymouth and Hāwera in 2018, the 9.7km stretch of highway between New Plymouth and Egmont Village was prioritised for design funding due to its poor safety record.   

Waka Kotahi is continuing to investigate improvements for the wider New Plymouth and Hāwera corridor. 

Crews will be onsite from next week through to the end of August surveying the land and testing the ground conditions on the road and roadside. There are about 12 days and nights of work to complete. All investigations will take place inside the legal road boundary.

To keep our road workers and the everyone using the road safe there will be traffic management in place, including temporary reduced speed limits where the team is working. Lanes will be narrowed or diverted with cones to allow our contractors a safe space to complete their work. In some areas Stop/Go traffic management will be required. 

These safety improvements are delivering to New Zealand’s Road Safety Strategy, Road to Zero 2020 – 2030, which aims to reduce the number of people killed or seriously injured on our roads by 40 percent over the next decade.

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• Phone: 0800 4 HIGHWAYS (0800 44 44 49)

Me mahi tahi tatou mo te oranga o te katoa

We must work together for the wellbeing of all

Waka Kotahi Senior Manager Māori, Nicholas Manukau, says the development of He Pūrongo has grown from a key priority of New Zealand’s Road to Zero strategy—to support initiatives to improve Māori road safety.

“The Road to Zero strategy sets an interim target to reduce deaths and serious injuries on our roads by 40% by 2030. It provides an outline of how we will approach road safety challenges over the next decade and hold ourselves to account to save lives and meaningfully reduce trauma. A key action within Road to Zero is to better understand and improve road safety outcomes for Māori.

“We take a Safe System approach to road safety and by making roads and roadsides, speeds, vehicles and road use safer, we are working to reduce deaths and injuries for everyone travelling on Aotearoa roads. The changes we make across the transport system will improve safety for everyone, but we know we need to do more to support better outcomes for Māori. We are on a path to learn how we can do this in partnership with iwi Māori.

“Sadly, the research completed for the first phase of He Pūrongo confirms that Māori are over-represented in serious road crashes, experiencing higher rates of death and serious injuries than the general population.”

Particular areas of concern highlighted by the report include the over-representation in fatal and serious injury crashes of young Māori men, under-licensed driving, non-use of seatbelts and child restraints, and driving while impaired.

Due to limitations in the existing data and research, the report primarily looks at road user (human) factors. Importantly, the report also identifies where there are gaps in our knowledge that need to be addressed in partnership with Māori. These gaps include the potential influence of factors such as purpose of travel, road function, location type and speed limits on crashes involving Māori.

“The findings of He Pūrongo provide an evidence-based foundation for further targeted research to be undertaken, to inform discussions with road safety partners, and to support the development of partnerships with Māori to agree on the steps to support better road safety outcomes for Māori,” Mr Manukau says.

“We are committed to partnering with Iwi Māori to better understand the risks identified in the report and we will work together to determine how to best improve road safety outcomes with Māori. Through building relationships, we can work together to co-design culturally relevant road safety initiatives based on specific communities’ wishes and needs. Once we have an agreed way forward, we can then look at how we can support Iwi to introduce and maintain the initiatives in their communities.”

As part of the Road to Zero strategy, Waka Kotahi (NZ Transport Agency), Ngā Pirihimana o Aotearoa (NZ Police) and Te Manatū Waka (Ministry of Transport), are working together to improve our understanding of road safety outcomes for Māori, and building relationships to identify actions that will improve the safety and wellbeing of Māori communities.

Superintendent Steve Greally, Director of the National Road Policing says “Police recognises the importance of this work and the intent to more fully engage with Māori in a meaningful and future-focused way. Safe travel should be something all road users enjoy, and Police takes its responsibilities very seriously as a good partner in realising that aspiration.”

The next steps in this journey may be challenging, but Waka Kotahi and our partners are committed to doing better for Māori, making sure that people are getting home safe and sound to their whānau, hapu and iwi.

Hapaitia te ara tika pumau ai te rangatiratanga mo nga uri whakatipu

Foster the pathway of knowledge to strength, independence and growth for future generations.

He Pūrongo and the summary document  

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In the five years from 2016 to 2020, seven people lost their lives and 28 people were seriously injured on SH1 between Ōtaki and Levin.

“We want everyone who uses our roads to get to where they’re going safely. Safe speed limits and infrastructure improvements will save lives and reduce the number of people seriously injured on New Zealand’s roads,” Director of Regional Relationships Linda Stewart says.

Waka Kotahi is planning a combination of safety improvements to SH1, including painted wide centrelines, side and median barriers, three new turnaround locations and a new roundabout at the SH1/SH57 intersection. Some safety improvements have already been installed in Manakau and Ohau.

These safety improvements are part of the Ōtaki to north of Levin programme of works which focuses on improving the safety and resilience of the road while Waka Kotahi continues working to deliver a new 24-kilometre four-lane highway to the east of the existing SH1 within the next decade.

“When the new highway is open, SH1 will continue to connect communities and be an important local road. In the meantime, traffic volumes on this stretch of SH1 will remain high so we are focused on improving safety for both local and through traffic,” Ms Stewart says.

“We want to tap into local knowledge and find out what people think of our proposed infrastructure changes, as well as the current speed limits on SH1 between Taylors Road in Ōtaki and just beyond Kawiu Road north of Levin.

“Even when speed doesn’t cause the crash, it’s what will most likely to determine whether you or someone you love is killed, injured, or walks away unharmed from that crash. That’s why we need to make sure that speeds are safe and appropriate for the road.

“As a busy state highway with both high-risk intersections and rural residences, it is important the speed limits on SH1 reflect the risk on the road. We want to hear what locals and people who travel this route regularly think about the current speed limits, how they use the road and what their concerns might be.”

Feedback gathered through the engagement period will feed into the technical assessment of the road to help Waka Kotahi determine whether to propose speed limit changes to improve safety, where any proposed new speed limits would begin or end, and if any other safety improvements are needed.

Improving safety on New Zealand roads is a priority for Waka Kotahi. Road to Zero, New Zealand’s road safety strategy, sets us on a path to achieve Vision Zero, a New Zealand where no one is killed or seriously injured on our roads.

Road to Zero

To achieve Vision Zero, we need to create a safe transport system that recognises humans make mistakes and is designed so that these mistakes do not need to cost lives. This requires a mix of solutions that all combine to keep people safe, including safe speed limits and safety improvements.

The public engagement period runs from today, Wednesday 14 July, until Wednesday 11 August.

How to have your say

People can find out more and have their say by:

• Visiting nzta.govt.nz/sh1-south-of-levin
• Emailing email hidden; JavaScript is required
• Phoning 0508 625 4636, or;
• Writing to O2NL Engagement, Private Bag 6995, Wellington 6141, or;
• Attending one of the drop-in sessions:

• • Tuesday 20 July, 5pm–6.30pm at Ohau Hall
  • Tuesday 27 July, 5pm–6.30pm at Ōtaki Memorial Hall
  • Wednesday 28 July, 5pm–7pm at Manakau Hall
  • Saturday 31 July, 10am–2pm at the Ō2NL Project Office, 171 Oxford Street, Levin

What local residents say

Kuku resident Gioja Townshend has lived next to SH1 for 17 years and welcomes safety improvements on SH1.

Gioja says while this investment in safety is positive news, the decision to continue building the new highway will make an even bigger difference.

“Building the new highway is quite simply the most essential safety and road network improvement for our region. It’s not a nice to have, it’s a must have.”

Plan ahead for a safe, enjoyable journey. Keep up to date with:

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• Twitter: twitter.com/WakaKotahiCNI
• Journey planner: journeys.nzta.govt.nz
• Phone: 0800 4 HIGHWAYS (0800 44 44 49)

“There’s already some low-level surface flooding around SH10 near Kaeo and with more rain forecast this evening, we urge all road users to take particular care and be prepared for unexpected disruptions on the road network,” says Wayne Sharplin Waka Kotahi Journey Manager for Northland.

MetService is forecasting another 70mm to 90mm of rain to accumulate on top of what has already fallen.

Slips may also pose a hazard, with one minor slip (approx. 5 cubic metres) falling on SH11 this morning, between Opua and Kawakawa in the Lemon’s Hill area.

In addition, severe gales gusting as much as 120km/h are expected in some places, with a strong wind warning in force for Northland and northern parts of Auckland.

“Strong wind gusts could damage trees, powerlines and unsecured structures. People should plan ahead by checking the forecast before heading out, and keeping an eye on our website, particularly those driving high-sided vehicles and motorcycles.”

Waka Kotahi will be actively monitoring the situation with maintenance crews out on the network ready to react if the situation requires.

Updates will be provided via the Waka Kotahi website and Twitter account.

Plan ahead for a safe, enjoyable journey. Keep up to date with:

• COVID-19 services update: nzta.govt.nz/COVID19
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• Twitter: twitter.com/WakaKotahiAkNth
• Journey planner: journeys.nzta.govt.nz
• Phone: 0800 4 HIGHWAYS (0800 44 44 49)

Works will take place from around 10am and motorists should expect delays of around 15 minutes throughout the day, while traffic is stopped in both directions to allow contractors to undertake the works.

Contractors were on site on 25 June and 6 July to carry out maintenance on the bridge surface. Unfortunately, the repairs didn’t go to plan due to faulty prefabricated road mats and high moisture levels, which impaired the new surface sticking to the bridge deck. An alternative repair method has been determined for tomorrow’s maintenance work.

Waikato System Manager Cara Lauder says ordinarily works like this are undertaken during summer, as the warm temperatures and dry air help the new surface to stick to the bridge deck. In this instance, the damage to the bridge surface progressed faster than expected, requiring us to undertake holding repairs over the winter.

“We understand the community’s concerns about the condition of the bridge, and frustrations over recent maintenance work. We can assure you the bridge surface remains safe to use.”

Funding has been requested for replacement of the bridge deck and Waka Kotahi is hopeful this work will be able to take place during the upcoming 2021/2022 summer maintenance season. Waka Kotahi will keep the community informed as we have more detail.

“Our contractors work hard to keep the roads and bridges up to standard within funding constraints. Additional maintenance works may be carried out when necessary, until the bridge deck can be fully replaced.”

Ms Lauder encourages people to visit the interactive Waka Kotahi Journey Planner website (journeys.nzta.govt.nz) for the latest information on the road closure and detours, before setting off on their journeys.

Waka Kotahi thanks motorists for their patience.