We’re looking to make safety improvements to four intersections along SH2 Hutt Valley - Hebden Crescent (near Owen Street), Hebden Crescent (by Liverton Road), Owen Street, and Moonshine Hill Road. These four intersections have been identified as high-risk for death and serious injury. They have unsafe layouts not suitable for high-speed and high-volume traffic, including the potential for serious side-impact crashes.
This is part of a staged approach to improving intersection safety on over 10 intersections along the 25km stretch between Ngāūranga and Upper Hutt.
Find out more about the work that went into deciding to do these improvements.
*Data is provided from the road traffic crash database; Crash Analysis System (CAS). 2023 data is not yet complete in CAS. These are the current figures from CAS as at 4 March 2024.
The Hebden Crescent intersection by Liverton Road has been converted to allow only left-hand turns in and out. The ability to turn right has been removed, and the median barrier extended to make it continuous.
The intersection at Hebden Crescent near Owen Street is now closed to traffic and road users should use Hebden Crescent by Liverton Road or Haywards (SH2/SH58) interchange for access.
If you’re travelling from the north, you can access Hebden Crescent by using the Belmont Regional Park entrance onto Hebden Crescent at the SH2/SH58 interchange. This route is suitable for heavy vehicles.
Coming from the south, you can still turn left onto Hebden Crescent at the Hebden Crescent by Liverton Road intersection.
If you’re heading north, you have two options for accessing SH2:
If you want to head south on SH2, you’ll no longer be able to turn right out of Hebden Crescent. You’ll need to either:
The map below shows how you’ll now access and exit Hebden Crescent. You can print this out and/or share it with people who need to access your business or property.
View/download map [PDF, 116 KB]
View the full information brochure [PDF, 1.1 MB]
We’ve currently paused our work on the proposed upgrades to both these intersections, as we consider the implications of the new Government Priority Statement and await the new Speed Management Rule, which will likely change the rules that govern how speed limits are set.
Both of these may impact the proposed upgrades and will influence any decisions on the next steps for these intersections.
Below we’ve outlined the current status of the work for each intersection.
The proposed upgrade for Moonshine Hill Road is for new traffic lights and a proposed posted speed limit change on the northbound lane.
This intersection is a crash hotspot with many serious and fatal crashes in recent years, so it was important to include in the first stage of improvements.
A remaining step is to confirm a new speed limit of 60 km/h through the intersection.
Current practice is not to install new traffic lights where the limit is 100km/h, so we’ve proposed to reduce the speed limit to 60km/h in the northbound lanes for a short stretch before and through the intersection. This is to ensure drivers can safely stop, when required, or slow down and pass safely through the intersection. It also means if a crash happened at the intersection, it would be at a lower speed – reducing the likelihood of people being seriously harmed.
Changing speed limits is a legal process and there are steps we must follow, as the road controlling authority for state highways.
At Owen Street, the proposed upgrade includes installing traffic signals, and a proposed speed limit reduction, to better control the four-way intersection. This is likely to be the first stage of further improvements that will be made later in the project.
These intersection changes are part of a larger work programme focused on improving safety on SH2 in the Hutt Valley, while minimising changes that might slow travel along SH2.
SH2 is an important, busy road that carries large volumes of people and products every day, connecting Wellington, Hutt Valley, Wairarapa and beyond. Around 37,000 vehicles travel along this section of SH2 every day.
Most of SH2 in the Hutt Valley has good safety characteristics, with median and side barriers that prevent the most serious crash types. However, there are several intersections with serious crash records.
In 2021 we carried out feasibility design work for physical safety improvements on 14 intersections along 25km of SH2 from Ngāūranga to Upper Hutt (excluding Melling Interchange, which is a separate project). This was about gathering information and determining the best proposed safety improvements.
As part of this phase, we engaged with key stakeholders that have an interest in the road corridor to provide feedback on the options. Full details of the stakeholders involved are included in our engagement report.
Ngāūranga to Featherston speed review and safety improvements public engagement report [PDF, 9.5 MB]
The project team produced a Feasibility Design Report at the end of this stage (Feb 2022) and decision makers agreed to take a staged approach to this work, with the first stage to include an initial four intersections – Moonshine Hill Road, Owen Street, Hebden Crescent and Liverton Road.
In late 2022, we let residents, businesses and key stakeholders know about the decision to move forward with these intersections.
After some delays in 2023, including to make some necessary design changes, we’re now ready to start construction for two SH2/Hebden Crescent intersections. Hebden Crescent by Liverton Road and Hebden Crescent near Owen Street.
