SH1 Peka Peka to Ōtaki corridor improvements

Connecting communities

25 February 2025

Ōtaki River Bridge shared path

Our team are finishing construction of the clip-on bridge attached to Ōtaki River Bridge. Very soon, the shared path will be open to the public.

When it opens, the shared path will connect with existing shared paths in Kāpiti, creating safer and more enjoyable journeys – not just for cyclists and pedestrians – but for motorists too. Separating pedestrians and cyclists from other road users reduces the chance of pedestrians and cyclists being at risk from road users. That’s a win-win for everyone.

The shared path through Ōtaki will link the township with the rest of Kāpiti via existing shared pathways, and will help improve safety of walking and cycling, and encourage recreation and tourism in Ōtaki.

Finishing clip-on work

Now that we’ve almost finished installing the clip-on, we’re preparing to take down all the scaffolding. This work requires stop/go traffic management on the bridge between the hours of 9am and 4pm on weekdays starting on 10 March — the Monday after the kite festival.

The traffic management will be manned during operation hours to minimise disruption to traffic moving in the area. Average wait times are expected to be around 3 mins with a maximum wait time of 8 mins if the traffic is very heavy in one direction. Dominant flows of traffic will be prioritised. There will also be a temporary speed limit of 30kph through the works to keep road users and work crews safe.

PP2Ō corridor improvements

Late last year we started work on old SH1 between Peka Peka and Ōtaki. We're working with Kāpiti Coast District Council to strengthen the district's resilience and improve connections for all forms of transport. This involves making this section fit for purpose as a local road.

While work at the Te Horo Beach Road intersection has been ongoing since October, the team also made a start on the section south of Waerenga Road earlier this month. This included reseal work and a footpath build at Sue Avenue.

Following discussions with the business community and Kāpiti Coast District Council, we’ve made some changes to designs for the Ōtaki business precinct section. These changes are:

• There will no longer be green painted cycling lanes on the road through the business precinct, north of Waerenga Road intersection. The cycle lanes south of Waerenga Road are being retained. Like any road other than motorways, cyclists are still permitted to use this section of road, but there will no longer be green paint or cycle symbols on the road.
• The planned traffic light upgrade at Arthur Street intersection, including the turning bays, has been removed from the design. Kerb buildouts onto the road will be minimised and all parking that would have been impacted, will now be retained.

We’re now working through these design changes and their potential impacts on other elements of the design, including the schedule of works. We’ll share further updates on the project once we’ve completed these design updates.

For more information about the corridor improvement/revocation work visit here.

Speed consultation on sections of SH1 from Ohau to Pukehou Overbridge

A new approach to setting speed limits on New Zealand roads came into force on 30 October 2024.

The new Land Transport Rule: Setting of Speed Limits 2024 set out how speed limits will be managed. It requires us to reverse some sections of roads to their previous speed limit in a one-off transition process in 2025, if they were subject to speed reviews after 1 January 2020 and had their original higher speed limit reduced.

It also enables the agency to consult on some existing speed limits (on interregional connectors, also known as rural state highways) to determine if there's public acceptance to retain them.

There are two sections of state highway road north of Otaki on State Highway 1 (SH1) that are open to consultation.

• SH1 Ohau to Manakau: From 150km south of Muhunoa East Road to 150km north of Waikawa Beach Road. (Current speed limit is 80km/h, previously 100km/h) 
   
• SH1 Manakau to Pukehou Overbridge: From 180m south of the intersection with the railway underpass road linking to Honi Taipua Street to 380m west of Pukehou Overbridge. (Current speed limit is 80km/h. previously 100km/h). 

The consultation is to determine levels of support for retaining the existing speed limits on these sections of state highway.

Have your say here.