Te Ara Tūtohu: Waitara to Bell Block

14 October 2025

Have your say on flexible median barrier

Through Te Ara Tūtohu: SH3 Waitara to Bell Block we are making improvements to enhance safety for everyone who uses this stretch of State Highway 3 (SH3), as well as prepare for population growth in the region.

To date, we have constructed roundabouts at the intersections of SH3 with Princess Street and Waitara Road, installed flexible median barrier between Bayly Street and Mamaku Road, installed a pedestrian underpass at Princess Street, and made other minor improvements including widening the road and road shoulder, installing wide centrelines and rumble strips, and removing passing lanes that were no longer safe.

We are developing plans to improve safety on the 100km/h section of SH3 between the Nelson Street and SH3A Mountain Road intersections (a distance of approximately 3.3km).

Between 2020-2024 there were 64 crashes on this stretch of road, including 4 crashes that resulted in either death or serious injuries. 2 of the 4 crashes were head-on.

One safety measure we are considering is installing flexible median barrier on SH3 between the SH3A intersection and the Nelson Street intersection. The median barrier, alongside the other improvements we are making to SH3 between Waitara and Bell Block, would help to maintain safety at the 100km/h speed limit here.

Flexible median barrier stands between you and an oncoming car, truck or motorcycle. This means if someone loses control or drifts across the centreline, the result isn’t a head-on crash.

The flexible median barrier we have already installed between Bayly Street and Mamaku Road has been struck numerous times. Each time it is hit, a potential head-on crash has been prevented.

While flexible median barrier between SH3A and Nelson Street would improve safety by reducing head on crashes, it would change how some people access this section of SH3 by removing right hand turns out of properties. Depending on the final design, it may also remove right hand turns out of Mahoetahi and Richmond roads. The removal of right-hand turns would result in 1-5 minutes more travel for impacted users who would need to turnaround at one of the roundabouts. 

If we do proceed with installing flexible median barrier between Waitara Road and SH3A, it will only be put in place once the dual-laned roundabout at the intersection of SH3 and SH3A is installed. Construction of this roundabout is subject to funding approval. Flexible median barrier between Nelson Street and Waitara Road could be installed sooner.

If we decide to proceed with the installation of flexible median barrier, we will contact all impacted landowners prior to designs for the barrier being confirmed.

We want to know your thoughts on the safety improvements we are considering and what you think we should do to improve safety on this section of SH3.

There are a couple of ways you can have your say:

• Come along to a community drop-in session at the Sport & Recreation Hub located at Clifton Park, 17 Princess Street, Waitara on Tuesday 4 November from 4pm-7pm where you can speak with the project team, ask questions, and share your opinion.
   
• Complete our online survey at nzta.govt.nz/w2bb-barrier.

The survey is open until 5pm on Tuesday 11 November 2025. If you have any questions or need assistance with completing the survey email us on w2bb@nzta.govt.nz.

After the survey closes, we will collate all the feedback. The feedback we receive will be considered alongside technical, safety, cost and economic data in making a decision on what safety improvements to implement on the 100km/h section of SH3 between the Nelson Street and SH3A Mountain Road intersections.

In early 2026, a summary of the feedback will be published along with the decision on median barrier.

More information

For more information on Te Ara Tūtohu: Waitara to Bell Block, contact us at w2bb@nzta.govt.nz

Visit our website www.nzta.govt.nz/w2bb