The NZ Transport Agency will take a staged approach to the roll out of a $2.2 million safety improvement programme along an 8km section of State Highway 88 (SH 88) between Maia and Port Chalmers near Dunedin.
This route has been assessed for road safety improvements as part of the Government’s Safe Roads and Roadsides programme. In the 10 years between 2006 and 2015, 12 people were seriously injured in crashes on this road. Most involved drivers losing control of their vehicle and running off the road.
The NZ Transport Agency discussed the SH88 safety work programme with the local West Harbour Community Board at a meeting last night (3 May, 2017).
The Transport Agency’s Southern Region Business Unit Manager Ian Duncan says the programme detail is still being worked through, but is expected to include fitting roadside safety barriers. These will help prevent vehicles running off the road and potentially ending up in the Otago Harbour. Other safety upgrades are likely to include high performance road markings, used to improve visibility at night and in wet conditions.
“The first stage of the SH88 road safety improvements will focus on the section from Maia to St Leonards, where the Shared Path already provides an alternative route for cyclists and specific, targeted safety improvements on the section of SH88 from St Leonards to Port Chalmers, taking into account cyclist safety. This work is expected to begin later this year,” says Mr Duncan.
The second stage of the SH88 project will deliver further safety improvements to the state highway between St Leonards and Port Chalmers. This is expected to coincide with planned work on the final section of the SH 88 Dunedin to Port Chalmers shared walking and cycling path, which is currently in the design phase.
The safety work on SH 88 is part of a nationwide $600 million Safe Roads and Roadsides programme the NZ Transport Agency is delivering on behalf of the Government.
Mr Duncan says the goal is to make the highway network safer over the next six years. It aims to prevent many deaths and serious injuries nationwide through relatively simple measures such as rumble strips, road shoulder widening, safety barriers, better signage and speed limit changes.
