NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi contractors will be back on site continuing safety improvement work on the State Highway 1-East Taupō Arterial from later this month.
The next stage of safety improvements to the town’s bypass route will include the installation of flexible safety barriers on a 5km section of the route from Napier Road south to the airport roundabout.
Contractors will begin working on Monday, 15 January, with an expected mid-year completion. The road shoulder on the northbound lane will be widened by 1.5m to make room for the barrier installation, and some northbound lane areas will receive side barriers and guardrail. Earth bunds, about 1m high, will be built at sections where the shared path is exposed to state highway traffic.
Traffic management and speed restrictions at the work site may lead to short delays.
In the 10 years 2014-2023, six people were killed and four people were seriously injured on the 15km East Taupō Arterial, along with 23 minor and 58 non-injury crashes. The safety improvements will make the road more forgiving, with crashes less likely to result in deaths and serious injuries.
Flexible safety barriers down the middle of a road prevent head-on collisions, and along the side of the road they help stop run-off-road crashes, catching vehicles before they hit something harder, like a pole, a tree or oncoming car.
