The project included flexible road safety barriers down the middle of the road to prevent head-on crashes, and new roundabouts at Ngaumutawa Road, Norfolk Road and East Taratahi Road to improve safety at these key intersections. These improvements have now been completed.
Community engagement
In August and September 2021, we asked for your thoughts on the proposed new roundabouts, flexible safety barriers and turnaround facilities for the stretch of road between Masterton and Carterton. We received over 1300 individual pieces of feedback. We heard from residents and landowners, mana whenua, MPs, local government representatives, local businesses and organisations, and people who use SH2 every day.
Engagement summary [PDF, 258 KB]
Safety improvements
Roundabouts
SH2/Ngaumutawa Rd roundabout
The new roundabout includes a pedestrian crossing to make it safer for school children and others to cross the road, along with new pathways for cyclists and pedestrians.
View larger mapSH2/Wiltons Rd/E Taratahi Rd roundabout
View larger mapSH2/Norfolk Rd roundabout
View larger mapMedian barriers
Flexible road safety barriers work
Flexible road safety barriers ‘catch’ vehicles that leave their lane before they hit something less forgiving – like other vehicles or roadside hazards such as trees, poles and ditches.
When a vehicle hits a barrier the high-tension wire cables flex, slowing down the vehicle and keeping it upright during and after a collision. The barrier absorbs the impact, reducing the force on the people in the vehicle. Flexible road safety barriers are designed so they don’t penetrate the passenger compartment of a vehicle.
They are also designed so a vehicle is not deflected into another traffic lane. Depending on the speed and angle of the impact, a number of posts may be damaged. This is how the posts are designed, and they can be repaired relatively easily.
What makes them ideally suited to many New Zealand roads is that they are narrow so can often be installed without significant widening of the road. They are also cost effective and they work – results show a 70–80 percent* reduction in road fatalities.
*2 Johansson, R. (2009) Vision zero – implementing a policy for traffic safety. Safety Science. 47(6), 826-831. doi: 10.1016/j.ssci.2008.10.023
SH2 southern turnaround
This ‘jug handle’ design gives people a safe place to turn around without crossing two lanes of traffic. It’s designed for a variety of vehicles.
View larger map
