As part of Road to Zero, Aotearoa’s road safety strategy, construction for stage one of the central section of the Whangārei to Wellsford safety improvements is set to start next Wednesday 26 October.

Part of a 79km corridor of State Highway 1 (SH1) connecting Northland and Auckland, the project is divided into three areas and will be delivered in several stages to minimise disruption to road users.

Stage one of the central section involves a 17-kilometre stretch between the Port Marsden Highway (SH15) to north of Brynderwyn Hill.

This section has been designed to cater for the specific terrain, road conditions and usage of the corridor. The safety improvements for the central section will include:

• a wider median from Port Marsden Highway roundabout to Lagoon Bridge
• flexible median barrier from Port Marsden Highway roundabout to Sandford Road
• flexible safety posts from Sandford Road to Lagoon Bridge
• a wider median from north of Finlayson Brook Road to Waipū Gorge Road.

Wide centrelines create more space between lanes and help separate oncoming vehicles, reducing serious crashes by up to 20%. Flexible median barriers can also reduce deaths and serious injuries by 65%. They prevent head-on crashes which is how most people are killed or seriously injured on our roads.

Construction for this stage is expected to be complete by towards the end of summer 2023.

Temporary traffic control will be in place at all times so please keep to the temporary speed restrictions to protect our crews working in and alongside the road.

The project is being delivered as part of Road to Zero which aims to reduce the number of people killed and seriously injured on New Zealand’s roads. Road to Zero sets an initial target to reduce deaths and serious injuries on New Zealand’s roads, streets, cycleways and footpaths by 40 percent over the next 10 years.

For up-to-date information on road works, traffic, detours and delays, motorists are encouraged to visit the Waka Kotahi Journey Planner page.

Waka Kotahi thanks motorists for their patience while we complete this essential work to keep the state highway network safe, accessible and resilient.

We have a vision of zero deaths and serious injuries on New Zealand roads. Learn more about:

· Road to Zero - our plan to achieve this vision

· Our vision – video explaining Road to Zero and what we’re trying to achieve

• What Waka Kotahi is doing to support Road to Zero

© Scoop Media