Alternate SH1 ‘safer’ despite deaths
Five people have now died on the new alternate highway between Christchurch and Picton, with two young Christchurch men the latest to join the death toll.
The crash, involving a white car and a Freight Lines truck, happened about 5 kilometres north of Culverden on State Highway 7 about 8am on Tuesday.
The truck driver was not injured but the car was left badly mangled and the two men inside – aged 19 and 23 – died at the scene.
Senior Sergeant Paul Reeves said police had spoken to the families of the dead men, but their names are yet to be released.
It was too early to determine the cause of the crash, and police investigations were continuing.
Their deaths brought the number of people killed on the South Island’s alternative State Highway 1 since November’s earthquake to five.
Since SH1 was badly damaged in the magnitude-7.8 quake, the alternate route between Picton and Christchurch – on SH63, SH6, SH65 and SH7 – has taken the majority of the upper South Island’s traffic.
The average number of vehicles passing through St Arnaud daily has since jumped from 372 to 1980, with 538 of the extra vehicles classed as heavy traffic, and the average number of vehicles crossing the Lewis Pass daily has risen from 1246 to 3389.
The roads were never designed to handle such high traffic volumes.
There have been at least 13 serious crashes on the route since it became the main highway.
The crashes have shut the vital freight and travel link for up to 12 hours at a time.
Flooding and fire have also caused the road to close since November.
Road policing operations manager Inspector Peter McKennie said the number of crashes was ‘‘not too significant’’ when considering the traffic volume and the nature of the route.
‘‘There were predictions of quite a significant number more fatal crashes over that summer period which didn’t eventuate.’’
Police had put six or more additional patrols on the route at peak times, he said.
Measures such as temporary speed limits had been introduced for difficult sections of the road.
The NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) will next week begin a month’s consultation on a bylaw to make the limits permanent.
The Government previously pledged $60 million to upgrade the route, including widening some sections and extensive resealing work. Several bailey bridges were installed alongside existing oneway bridges.
NZTA earthquake recovery manager Steve Mutton said the alternate route was ‘‘a challenging environment to drive’’ but the huge investment was ‘‘definitely making the route safer’’.
A recent spike in truck incidents was ‘‘a real concern’’ though, he said.
There have been reports of linehaul truck drivers quitting their jobs due to the dangerous conditions on the roads.
New Zealand Trucking Association chief executive David Boyce said the route was ‘‘more than adequate’’.
‘‘There are certainly drivers who are finding it challenging but there are others who are managing their driving on the road quite well.’’
Road Transport Association chief executive Dennis Robertson said they had received ‘‘quite a few reports’’ from the trucking industry of people driving ‘‘far too fast and in a reckless way’’.
Truck drivers were having problems with people passing them dangerously when they slowed down for the new speed limits, he said. Serious crashes on alternate highway SH7 Six crashes and four fatalities. SH7 makes up about 151 kilometres of the alternate highway. SH65 Five crashes and one fatality. SH65 makes up about 71km of the alternate highway SH63 Two crashes and no fatalities. SH63 makes up about 117km of the alternate highway SH6 No crashes or fatalities. SH6 makes up about 45km of the alternate highway Police have scaled back the search for 21-year-old Auckland woman Kim Bambus at Piha beach. Detective Inspector Hayden Mander said yesterday: ’’Sadly we have now reached the point where all possible search options have been exhausted.’’ Mander said there was no evidence suggesting foul play. Bambus, a registered nurse at Middlemore Hospital, was last seen at a supermarket in Ponsonby in central Auckland on the afternoon of Friday, March 24. Her car was found at Piha, at 1am on Saturday, with her mobile phone still inside.
Thick fog blanketing Wellington Airport has grounded hundreds of travellers and tourists. Now forecast to hang around until this morning, the fog caused all flights to be suspended to and from the airport yesterday.
A motorist died in a head-on crash with a logging truck at Mangatawhiri, north Waikato, on Tuesday at 3.40am on State Highway 2. The truck driver suffered minor injuries.
A story yesterday said the Employment Relations Authority this week upheld complaints from two of Kim Dotcom’s former employees. In fact, the ruling was released in March 2016 and was later appealed. The error is regretted.