Safety arrow signs installed West Coast highways ready for summer

As part of its annual safety work programme, the NZ Transport Agency’s West Coast contracting teams have been installing more than 500 new roadside arrow signs along the Coast’s state highways ready for the busy summer season ahead.

“The primary reason for these signs is to increase drivers’ awareness of a bend or curve in the road and the need to lower speeds as they are approaching and travelling around corners or curved sections of highway,” says Jim Harland, Transport Agency Southern Regional Director.

The cost of this work, covering around 50 km of highway, is around $147,000.

Five areas of West Coast highway are getting the new gold on black background arrow signs in time for this summer:

State Highway 6

• Fox River to Punakaiki on the Great Coast Road – more than 200 signs, 16.5 km in total.
• Fox Glacier to Haast, South Westland, in two stages. Fox Glacier to Ohinetamatea Bridge – 39 signs installed in August covering nearly 11 km.
• Fox Glacier to Haast from Whakapohai River Bridge to Cole Creek Bridge – Manakaiaua Hills (Knights Point area) – 117 signs covering 8 km, to be completed by the end of September.
• Franz Josef to Fox Glacier – 38 signs covering 8.5 km are being installed to the end of September between Kiwi Jack’s Bridge to Waikukupa River Bridge (first half of the Fox Hills).

State Highway 7

• Stillwater – Dobson, 75 signs covering 5 km of this key route east out of Greymouth will be installed by the end of September.

Richard Hawes, carpenter for Westreef, installing one of 200 arrow signs on the Coast Road near Punakaiki, SH6.