The public are being invited to have their say and learn more about work to improve safety on State Highway 22 between Drury and Paerata.
The planned work is aimed at providing immediate improvements to reduce death and serious injury crashes ahead of longer term solutions for the 9 kilometre stretch of highway west of the State Highway 1 Drury Interchange, to the township of Paerata.
A series of public open days are being held so people can see what safety treatments are proposed and talk to Transport Agency staff who can answer questions and listen to feedback.
The NZ Transport Agency’s Auckland Highway Manager Brett Gliddon says the high speed rural road serves as a vital link to Pukekohe, other major centres of employment such as the steel mill at Glenbrook and the growing housing areas north of Pukekohe. It’s also used to access popular West Coast beaches and Regional Parks.
Up to 25,000 trips are made along the route every day, with that number expected to grow in the next 10 to 15 years as planned housing developments are built.
“As well as safety benefits there are also opportunities to make immediate improvements to support this growth until longer term solutions are developed.”
The highway has been identified by the Government’s Safer Roads and Roadsides programme which is targeting high risk sites on rural highways.
“In the past ten years 9 people have lost their lives and 36 people have been seriously injured on this stretch of road and our immediate priority is to make sure everyone can enjoy safer journeys,” says Mr Gliddon.
“The improvements will make State Highway 22 and its roadside more forgiving of human error, reducing the risks of crashes happening and limiting the severity when they do.”
The project will consider using measures such as creating a wide centre line to reduce head on crashes, installing side barriers to reduce the impact when vehicles run off the road and upgrading signs to make high risk areas more visible. The upgrades to the state highway will also include improvements at the intersections along this corridor.
“We know that locals often know their own roads best which is why we value feedback from stakeholders, road users and communities to help us identify the preferred solutions.”
The work will be developed to complement the longer term plan for supporting future urban growth areas, formerly known as Transport for Future Urban Growth (TFUG), which is delivering some of the key priorities laid out in the Auckland Transport Alignment Project, a collaboration between Auckland Council and the New Zealand Government.
The NZ Transport Agency, Auckland Transport and Auckland Council have identified the transport networks needed to support population growth in future urban areas including southern Auckland. More information can be found here.
