A step for Bream Bay on the Road to Zero

A step for Bream Bay on the Road

to Zero

The beginnings of a safer State Highway 1 (SH1) have been underway near Ruakākā for several months. After all the road cones are squared away, we’ll be left with a glimpse of the future for the wider area.

The Waka Kotahi SH1 Whangārei to Wellsford Safety Improvements Project (central section) will ultimately see a suite of features such as rumble strips, wide centreline, flexible median barriers, side safety barriers and widened road shoulders. The project is being delivered as part of Road to Zero, Aotearoa's road safety strategy, to reduce the number of people killed and seriously injured on New Zealand’s roads.

Construction has been underway from the Port Marsden Highway roundabout (SH15) down to Lagoon Bridge (just after Doctor’s Hill Road heading south) since October 2022. Some new chip seal paved the way for updated line markings with a new wide centreline installed. The biggest change at this end will be a 1km section of flexible median barrier extending from SH15 to Sandford Road, outside Ruakākā School. These barriers prevent head-on crashes and can reduce deaths and serious injuries by up to 65%.

Down on the other side of Waipū, the project continues as similar safety improvements are made from Waipū Gorge Road to north of Finlayson Brook Road. While we won’t see any flexible median barrier installed this year, we will have the same wide centreline to provide more space between you and oncoming traffic. Having more space between lanes gives you more time to react and can help prevent a crash if you make a mistake and reduces the risk of crashes resulting in deaths and serious injuries by up to 35%.

These works are a prelude to bigger things. Stage two of the project is currently in the investigation and design phase. Current proposals will see the flexible median barrier continue from Sandford Road to The Braigh, near Waipū. The barrier will pick up again from Finlayson Brook Road to the existing barrier at the base of the Brynderwyn Hills, near Waipū Gorge Road. As part of a safe system, we will be providing turnaround facilities at intersections along the 17km corridor to allow road users to cross the highway and change directions.

Following community consultation at the end of 2021, we made some changes to our original proposals for safety treatments at four high-risk intersections near Waipū. Uretiti Road will be left in/left out only. Rosythe Road and Nova Scotia Drive will join State Highway 1 with a roundabout. Shoemaker Road will be left in/left out in both directions. The Braigh and Millbrook Road will remain largely unchanged.

We know that road works can be an inconvenience to people travelling on our state highway network, especially over the summer months. The warm dry weather is the best time for getting the job done, as well as for getting to the beach. We appreciate your patience and encourage you to plan ahead with the Waka Kotahi Journey Planner and be mindful of delays this busy roadworks season. Thank you for keeping our construction crews safe as they make the road safer for you.

For more info and to sign up for updates, visit www.nzta.govt.nz/ whangarei-to-wellsford

Wharehine Construction Limited crew installing a new roadside safety barrier near Ruakākā.

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