SH57 safety improvement update
When we spoke to you about SH57 safety improvements in July/August this year, we let you know we were planning a roundabout at Arapaepae Road and Queen Street, as well as stretches of side barriers and wide centrelines.
As with all Waka Kotahi projects, we have conducted thorough technical and safety reviews of our plans on SH57 before we move into construction. This is to ensure we get the best safety improvements possible within the scope of each project.
Following community feedback and these technical reviews, we’ve identified the opportunity to provide further safety benefits through additional stretches of side barriers to protect from hazards such as tree trunks and culverts.
These additional stretches of side barrier are mostly on the opposite side of the road to the barrier already proposed (refer to the map above). The existing road seal will be widened to accommodate all proposed safety infrastructure and to improve the overall performance of the road.
There will be a minimum of 1.5m between the side barrier and the outside of the traffic lane along all stretches of side barrier, including 1.5m on both sides of the road where there are barriers on both sides. This is in addition to the widened painted centrelines, which will provide more space between the lanes of traffic.
The next step for the project is final confirmation of funding and seeking tenders for construction. The final scope will be confirmed at this stage. We’ll provide an update on this process and when we expect construction to start in our next newsletter.
If you are interested in discussing the newly proposed side barriers further, or would like to give some feedback, please email O2NL@nzta.govt.nz.
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