Caption: A range of safety improvements are taking place on State Highway 1 and 3 (SH1/3) between Bulls and Sanson to make this stretch of road safer for all road users.

Construction underway at Manawatū’s new Commercial Vehicle Safety Centre

Motorists travelling between Bulls and Sanson may have noticed the new Ohakea Commercial Vehicle Safety Centre (CVSC) building going up.

Once complete, this new facility will replace the old NZ Police weigh station on SH1/3. The Ohakea CVSC is situated on Pukenui Road, outside RNZAF Base Ohakea and near the newly constructed roundabout. SH1/3 is a high-volume freight route and at this new location, heavy vehicles will be able to use the roundabout and pull into the CVSC from both directions.

As part of this project, two sets of in-road scales (weigh-in-motion plates) will be installed in the northbound and southbound lanes between Bulls and Sanson. Automatic licence plate recognition cameras and two digital signage boards will also be installed on the side of the state highway. This installation work and a short section of asphalting will take place during the course of the year.

The Ohakea CVSC site is on track for completion in early 2025. It is one of 12 planned as part of the national Commercial Vehicle Safety Programme.

Keep up to date with this project via our project page.

Caption: Drone images supplied by NZDF show construction progress at the Ohakea CVSC site between December 2023 and May 2024.

Caption: The map shows the location of the northbound and southbound in-road scales, automatic licence plate recognition cameras and digital signage boards that will be installed on SH1/3 as part of the Ohakea CVSC project.

How CVSCs operate and improve compliance

The purpose of a Commercial Vehicle Safety Centre (CVSC) is to monitor heavy vehicles travelling past and provide data on operator and truck behaviour such as heavy vehicle weight, load status, and driver fatigue.

If a heavy vehicle is flagged during screening, the digital signage on the side of the state highway will instruct the driver to pull into the centre by showing the vehicle’s licence plate number.

Once at the CVSC, Police Commercial Vehicle Safety Team officers will ask the driver to drive over the weigh bridge. Further compliance checks may also take place, such as checking road user charges or logbooks, or completing a vehicle inspection.

Using this data, we will be able to focus education and compliance work toward operators who aren’t compliant on our roads, making sure they’re paying their fair share of road maintenance costs, while keeping compliant operators moving.

NZTA Commercial Vehicle Safety Programme Manager Sean Bridge says this technology will help to streamline travel for operators, because those not flagged during screening won’t need to pull into the CVSC.

"The data we collect will give us really good insight into the behaviour of heavy vehicles on the network. Using this data, we'll be able to target our education and compliance work toward where safety issues are in the industry, protect our roads from damage, and bring down road maintenance costs."

NZ Police Commercial Vehicle Safety Team National Manager Acting Inspector Mike Flatt says having this facility will help NZTA and Police ensure drivers and vehicles passing through the region are safe and compliant.

"The team on site will be checking logbooks to make sure drivers aren't fatigued, as well as driver impairment checks before they get back on the road."

Caption: This design map shows the layout of the Ohakea CVSC next to the new roundabout on SH1/3, and shared user path.

Shared user path construction update

If you’ve driven past Base Ohakea recently, you would have seen the shared user path taking shape on the western side of SH1/3, and around the outside of the newly constructed roundabout.

The path is nearing completion, and crews are currently carrying out additional paving and roadside safety barrier (guardrail) installation works. Once complete, this pedestrian and cyclist path will improve safety and connectivity between Bulls and Base Ohakea.

The majority of the paving works on the path that stretches between Tangimoana Road and Pukenui Road have been completed. Lighting has been upgraded, and barriers have been installed to help protect cyclists and pedestrians from live traffic, as well as prevent head-on crashes in this section of road.

As part of these works, crews are planning to upgrade some line marking and signage to the north of the Bulls Bridge, within the Bridge Street pull-over area. These upgrades include remarking existing cycle lanes, replacing existing signage and installing new signage.

Please adhere to temporary speed limits and continue to expect changing traffic management in the area as our crews continue to carry out works on the shoulder of the state highway over the coming weeks.

Roadworker of the week

If you follow our Facebook page, you may have seen Graham Cooper as our Roadworker of the Week recently. Graham is a pavement supervisor for Fulton Hogan working on our roundabout project. 

Graham grew up surrounded by construction and, at the age of 15, followed the footsteps of his father and grandfather into the industry.

He’s spent the past 20 years in hard hats and steel-capped boots, honing his skills as a top-notch motor grader operator. Motor graders are a key piece of equipment used in roading construction.

These big machines are efficient and precise, and ensure our new roads and roundabouts have a smooth and safe surface.

You can check out the full article about Graham via the link here.

More information

To find out more about the project, visit our website nzta.govt.nz/bulls2sanson

The project team can also be contacted at bullstosanson@nzta.govt.nz