There’s been a high number of crashes on State Highway 3 (SH3) between Whanganui and Bulls so we’re planning to install sections of median barrier to help prevent people being killed and seriously injured.
State Highway 3 (SH3) between Whanganui and Bulls is a key route for locals, tourists, and freight. We’re planning improvements to this route to help make sure people can get where they are going safely.
In 2022, we undertook a study to understand which types of safety improvements would work best for this road. The study identified that installing flexible median barrier, alongside roundabouts and turnaround facilities would greatly improve safety.
In February 2024, we announced plans to install 5-6km of flexible median barrier on the route by the middle of the year as a first step towards making the route safer.
Since then, we have spoken with residents and the wider community and used their feedback to help us confirm the appropriate locations and lengths for these initial stretches of flexible median barrier.
We have now confirmed the locations for four stretches of flexible median barrier totalling 2.9 km in length. These barriers will be installed at the following locations:
The stretches from Duddings Lake to Union Line and Pukepapa Road to Brightwell Road will each have a gap in the middle for property access.
Traffic management for this work is currently being confirmed.
We will announce the locations for a further three stretches of median barrier in the coming weeks – after engagement with landowners and residents is complete.
The remaining proposed improvements for this route – including roundabouts, turnaround facilities, right hand turn bays, side barrier, and further median barrier – are subject to funding approval through the National Land Transport Programme (NLTP) 2024-27. All activities within the NTLP 2024-27 will be prioritised in alignment with the Government Policy Statement on land transport (GPS) 2024.
