Rumble strips to be installed on SH 23 from Raglan to Waitetuna

NZTA news

Works to start between Raglan and Waitetuna

Work to improve safety on the section of road between Waitetuna and Raglan will get underway later this month. New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) say they’ll make minor safety improvements to the 21 km stretch of road before winter sets in, ahead of more substantial works towards the end of the year.

There’s been 391 crashes on the road from Hamilton to Raglan in the last 10 years*. Five people have died and 64 have been seriously injured. Something has to change, so NZTA are improving the road to make it safer for everyone. After speaking with locals, community organisations and transport groups, they say they are now ready to start adding safety features that will prevent people losing their lives and being seriously injured in crashes. *between 2005 and 2015

Rumble strips and three short sections of safety barrier will be installed on the roadside over the next couple of months. NZTA say these works will cause minimal disruption to traffic, but they are asking people to please take care when travelling the route and abide by the temporary speed limits to ensure everyone’s safety. If the weather remains fine, this work should be completed by July.

Work to start late 2017

NZTA will add the bulk of the safety improvements between Waitetuna and Raglan after winter. Shoulders will be widened in areas where there is a high risk of vehicles running off the road, and better signs alerting drivers to oncoming risks will be installed. They say they received a lot of feedback about safety at intersections from the community, so they’ll also be improving some intersections. More pull over bays for slower vehicles may also be built.

Intersection improvements

Waitetuna Valley Road: We’ll resurface the intersection and the SH23 curve with high friction asphalt surfacing.

Okete Road (east) at Te Uku: We’ll provide a wide flush median to make it safer for traffic to turn right into Okete Road where Te Uku School, the store and café are located.

Te Mata Road: Roadside banks will be trimmed back to increase visibility to the east. Visit www.nzta.govt.nz/sh23 for an overview map of the works.