Major safety upgrades on the way for Dunedin’s Southern Motorway

The NZ Transport Agency has announced a major Otago safety project, on State Highway 1 from Lookout Point, Dunedin, to Mosgiel, will get underway in July.

The $5.4 million project has been awarded to Fulton Hogan.

Additional side barriers will be built to prevent drivers running off the highway and the median barrier at the Mosgiel interchange at the end of the route will be extended to keep traffic apart and reduce the risk of head-on crashes. High performance road markings will be installed for improved visibility at night and in wet conditions.

It is anticipated the project will be finished by Christmas.

Two people died and 34 were seriously injured on this section of highway from 2006 to 2015. Nearly 90 per cent of serious crashes were caused by vehicles running off the road and hitting a ditch or embankment.

These new safety measures will reduce these types of crashes, and when they do occur, they will be less likely to result in serious injuries or deaths, making this busy motorway safer for everyone who uses it, including freight and commercial drivers, residents and tourists.

The project is part of the $600 million Safe Roads and Roadsides programme which aims to prevent people from dying or being seriously injured on rural roads. It aims to prevent deaths and serious injury crashes through relatively simple measures such as rumble strips, road shoulder widening, safety barriers, improved signage and speed limit changes.

The Transport Agency and its contractors appreciate this is a busy motorway and there will be a focus on minimising construction-related disruptions. Where possible two lanes will be maintained in each direction but where lane closures are necessary these will be scheduled for times of lower traffic flows.

More information about the Dunedin Southern Motorway safety improvements project is available here.

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