Waka Kotahi is holding two drop-in sessions to discuss safety improvement plans for SH1 in Tirau.

The drop-in sessions will look at safety improvement plans for SH1 from Piarere to Tirau and also on SH5 from Tirau to Tarukenga.

The transport agency said there are various road design improvements that can be made, including installing flexible central and side barriers.

When

Wednesday 6 September: 3pm-6pm
Saturday 9 September: 10am-12 noon

Where

Tirau Memorial Hall, SH1 in Tirau.

SH1 Piarere to Tirau

Waka Kotahi is looking at safety improvements on the 9.7km section from just north of Horahora Road towards Tirau.

Work would include road widening and the installation of flexible central and side safety barriers.

The proposed concept design has gaps in the barrier for four turnaround locations at Horahora Road, Paparamu Road (western end), Puketirau Road and Paparamu Road (eastern end).

The central barrier will impact on the ability for most residents and businesses to turn right out of, and into, their properties. They can expect an additional two to three minutes of driving time to safely access their properties if they are coming from a direction that would have ordinarily involved a right turn.

The barrier will extend (with no gap) past Momona Road, meaning vehicles will only be able to turn left into and out of this road. To mitigate this, turnaround locations are proposed at Puketirau and Paparamu Road, which will add around one minute of additional driving time for people accessing Momona Road.

Waka Kotahi is proposing to keep the existing passing lane between Puketirau Road and Momona Road and convert the existing passing lane east of Paparamu Road (eastern end) to a slow-vehicle bay. This will make the right-turn movement into Paparamu Road safer.

Next steps in this project are to develop a detailed design, engage with mana whenua, landowners and other stakeholders to finalise the design, conduct negotiations for any land purchase and confirm construction funding.

SH5 Tirau to Tarukenga

A feasibility study investigating potential improvements was completed in early 2022. Waka Kotahi worked with mana whenua and councils and their feedback helped  to identify a preferred option.

The transport agency is currently developing the detailed design for the 2.5km section between Whites Road and Harwoods Road – the SH28 overlap.

The safety measures proposed include:

• roundabouts at Harwoods Road and Whites Road
• flexible median barrier
• widening the road shoulders where necessary to accommodate the barriers and give drivers space to pull over in an emergency.

Waka Kotahi teams are carrying out site investigations and seeking feedback on the proposed design. The information received will be considered as the agency progresses the design for this section.