SH2 Wainui Road to Ōpōtiki latest news and works update

Kia Ora,

Safer journeys are one of the benefits the State Highway 2 Wainui Road to Ōpōtiki safety improvements project is delivering for locals.

As we get closer to summer and enter our busy works season, you can expect to see our team working hard and making the most of the warmer, drier weather and longer daylight hours to deliver this project. 

Improving safety on Aotearoa New Zealand roads is a priority for Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency. 

Road to Zero 2020-2030, New Zealand’s road safety strategy tells us what we need to do to make improvements in road safety. It sets us on a path to achieve Vision Zero, a New Zealand where no one is killed or seriously injured on our roads.

Road to Zero sets an initial target to reduce deaths and serious injuries on New Zealand’s roads, streets, cycleways and footpaths by 40 percent over the next 10 years.

Reaching that target would mean reducing annual road deaths to 227 and serious injuries to 1,680 by 2030.

There are five key focus areas under Road to Zero:

• Infrastructure improvements and speed management
• Vehicle safety
• Work-related road safety
• Road user choices
• System management

It is fantastic to be delivering a safer road and to provide additional benefits for the local community, such as employment.

At the beginning of this year 15 local people started work with civil construction company Splice Construction though the government-wide Broader Outcome initiative.

We are pleased to continue this collaboration with Splice, local iwi leaders and the community, to create further opportunities, with a further five locals recently joining the team as traffic controllers.

Construction update

We are currently finishing works on Section 1A between Wainui Road and Waiotahe Valley Back Road.

This includes shoulder widening, side barriers and the installation of a temporary median barrier at one site near Kutarere to keep our contractors safe.

Early next year we will be doing service investigations and relocations through the Pohutukawa tunnels and from the surf club through to Ōpōtiki. We will also be improving the curve at the Rankin Road intersection, as well as widening the shoulders and installing side barriers to make this corner safer.

If you travel this section of SH2 regularly you will know the Matekerepu Bridge is narrow and the section of road we are currently working on is close to the bridge.

We currently have 24/7 Stop/Go traffic management in place, and, during peak times, the traffic may back up on the bridge.

We ask people to not stop on the bridge while traffic management is active as it can be tricky to navigate if a large vehicle is trying to cross at the same time. This means stopping before the bridge rather than on it.

Traffic management will remain in place until construction on this site is completed, which is expected to be mid-December.

Safety first: Temporary central barriers are used to protect our workers on site

Why has temporary central barrier been installed?

Safety is our number one priority for everyone working on our roads.

We have installed a temporary central barrier east of the SH2/Wainui Road intersection as part of our traffic management approach to safety. 

The barrier is in place temporarily to physically separate road users, construction workers and machinery to provide a higher level of protection for our team working on the safety improvements. This section of road is narrow, and we want to keep everyone safe.

While standard sized vehicles have access through the sites, we acknowledge that the temporary barriers have created some disruption with over-dimension vehicles. We remain in contact with the heavy vehicle industry and are informed when oversized loads are coming through the site.

Our contractor Splice has removed signage and trees on the left-hand side of the road when heading towards Ōpōtiki to allow passage for the over-dimension vehicles while the temporary central barrier is in place.

This barrier will be removed once the works are complete on this section, expected by mid-December.

Speed focus: We will continue to engage with local communities on speed reviews early next year

What about speed?

In our last update, we told you about speed limits being reviewed on State Highway 2 between Paengaroa and Ōpōtiki.

We are also reviewing speeds on other highways in the Ōpōtiki area, with an update below:

SH2 Paengaroa to Ōpōtiki, Ōpōtiki to Gisborne and  SH35 Ōpōtiki to Te Puia Springs – We expect to consult on safer speed limits in 2022.

SH30 Tikitere to Whakatāne Bridge – Consultation on safer speed limits is expected to get underway early 2022.

The purpose of a speed review is to ensure the current speed limits along these roads are set where they need to be to keep us all safe. 

To understand safe speed limits, take a look at this short video: The Sign of a Safe Speed.

Caption text here...

Tohu hua rahi: Māori bilingual traffic signs

Waka Kotahi has recently released bilingual school traffic signs for public consultation.

The proposal would see the word kura in bold or italic font positioned above the word school to differentiate between te reo Māori and English.

We support te reo Māori being seen, spoken and heard wherever possible, to continue the revitalisation of the language.  As such, we have the opportunity to introduce bilingual school signs in advance of other bilingual traffic signs, to align with expected changes to speed limits around schools from next year.

The new Land Transport Rule: Setting of Speed Limits 2021, expected to be implemented in 2022, will mandate road controlling authorities to set slower speed limits outside schools to create a safer travel environment for whānau and tamariki.

Forty percent of school speed limit changes will need to be completed by 2024, and the remainder completed by 2030.

Bilingual signs have been used on the network for some time, but the proposed rule change will help with more consistent and safe use across Aotearoa New Zealand.

The deadline for submissions is 5pm on Friday 17 December 2021. For further information on the proposal, or to make a submission visit our website here.

More information

Minimising delays and disruption is a big focus for us, but there will be minor delays as we carry out this important work.

If you are driving through any of our work sites over the summer, please follow any temporary speed limits and traffic management for your safety, and that of our road workers and other road users.

The next project update will be out in mid-December where you will find information on our summer season works and what to expect during the Christmas holiday period.

For more information on the SH2 Wainui Road to Ōpōtiki project, or if you have any questions, contact Project Manager Malcolme Flattery at bopprojects@nzta.govt.nz