A wide-ranging programme of work to improve safety on State Highway 3 between New Plymouth and Hāwera has made solid progress in its first full year of construction.
Since 2016, this stretch of SH3 has witnessed 761 crashes, with 297 of them resulting in injuries and 13 resulting in fatalities.
NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi Project Manager Sree Nutulapati says the aim of the project is to improve safety along this corridor through a range of physical improvements, including wide centrelines, flexible median barriers and a roundabout.
“We are committed to creating safer journeys for everyone using this section of SH3, helping people get where they need to go safely and efficiently.
“When our contractors are installing improvements, we know sometimes the work causes disruption. We’d like to thank road users for their patience while we have been busy improving safety along this corridor of SH3.”
Delivery of physical improvements on the New Plymouth to Hāwera safety improvements project began at the start of 2024, with a 2.65km section of flexible median barrier installed just north of Normanby.
This was followed soon after by the installation of median barriers at sites near Midhirst, Inglewood and Egmont Village.
To date, the project has delivered close to 10km of median barriers and wide centrelines at 9 locations.
“The median barriers prevent head-on crashes, which is how many people are killed or seriously injured on our roads,” says Mr Nutulapati.
“Widening centrelines is a simple and effective way to steer drivers away from each other – giving people more time to react and helping prevent crashes if someone makes a mistake.”
Physical works still to be completed include the installation of a 28m by 24m roundabout and associated works – including footpaths, crossing islands and an offroad cycle path – to improve safety at the Mangorei Road intersection in New Plymouth.
“We know there’s plenty of community support from locals and road users for this roundabout – so we’re eager to progress construction, providing smoother, safer and more efficient traffic flow.
A temporary roundabout has been installed at the Mangorei Road intersection, for the safe and efficient management of traffic while work progresses towards completion of the permanent roundabout and associated improvements in the first half of 2026.
Works will also resume in the new year on intersection improvements and widening between Junction Street and Mangorei Road, subject to receipt of a Wildlife Act Authority permit for the removal and rehoming of any lizards found to be living in vegetation along the roadside.
Also scheduled for early in 2025 is the installation of approximately 1km of wide centreline between Dudley and Durham Roads on the southern extents of Inglewood.
Looking further ahead, the project has completed the design of a possible future roundabout (subject to the availability of funding for construction) at Egmont Village, while design work is underway for the possible future installation of wide centreline over approximately 25km at sites between Egmont Village and Eltham.
Once this design work is completed by mid-2025, the designs will be retained for future rollout when funding for construction becomes available. The designs will enable the possible installation of flexible median barriers within a widened centreline, or widening of the centreline only.
Before Christmas, SH3 between Inglewood and Eltham will see daytime road shoulder closures and temporary speed restrictions at 3 separate locations in this stretch; to enable ground investigations.
In January 2025 there will be some lane closures and temporary speed restrictions at locations on SH3 between Egmont Village and Eltham, to enable further ground investigations. Further details to follow.
