The first of four safety improvement projects on State Highway 3 between Hamilton and Te Kuiti is now underway.

The $4.8 million project between Ohaupo and Te Awamutu will include road flexible road safety barriers, wide centrelines, widened shoulders, rumble strips and turnaround bays. It will also include improvements to intersections and access to properties.

"More than 11,300 vehicles travel on this stretch of road each day. These safety improvements will make a heavily trafficked section of the highway safer and more reliable for everyone who uses this road,” said Transport Minister Simon Bridges.

“In the decade between 2005 and 2014 there were four deaths and 18 serious injuries on SH3 between Ohaupo and Te Awamutu. The project aims to reduce deaths and serious injuries on this stretch of the highway by 11 or more by 2026.”

The project is part of the Government‘s $600 million Safe Roads and Roadsides programme which will see safety improvements made to approximately 90 high-risk sites on rural State Highways in 14 regions across New Zealand. This is one of 19 underway in the Waikato.

Work should be completed in April.