Dairy Flat Highway under urgent speed limit review
Auckland Transport planning to overhaul intersection which is notorious for accidents
Auckland Transport is urgently reviewing the speed limit of a notorious stretch of highway which claimed the life of stuntman and entertainer Johnny Danger.
A spokesman said it planned to introduce a lower speed limit in the vicinity of the Dairy Flat Highway and Coatesville-Riverhead Highway intersection within weeks.
Between 2008 and 2017 there have been nine deaths and 55 serious injuries on the Dairy Flat Highway, according to Auckland Transport. Six of those serious injuries happened at the intersection of Dairy Flat Highway and Coatesville-Riverhead Highway.
Last Thursday a truck and a small car collided at that intersection, sideswiping several other cars in the crash. The truck plunged through a barrier as a result and a woman was trapped in the other car.
Rodney Local Board member Louise Johnston said the speed limit needed to be reduced at the intersection immediately and she wanted to see it dropped to 50km/h.
It was not an inherently dangerous intersection but the heavy traffic congestion made it dangerous for turning traffic, she said.
“That just breaks my heart that accident on Thursday — I looked at the pictures and it was just horrific.”
The intersection should have been upgraded last year, she said.
“It’s just not acceptable now. There can not be another accident like that.”
Johnston said if action was not taken within the next few weeks the community would go ahead and do it themselves.
“I’m part of the community as well so I understand their frustrations.”
Auckland Transport spokesman Mark Hannan said the speed limit on the road was under urgent review and a temporary speed limit in the vicinity of the intersection with Coatesville-Riverhead Highway would be introduced within weeks.
A range of safety measures were being considered for Dairy Flat Highway and there was ongoing community consultation about that, he said.
“In addition AT is putting in a new roundabout at the intersection of Dairy Flat Highway and Coatesville Riverhead Highway — this will be a substantial transformational change.
“The roundabout is currently in the final design stage and we plan to build it this summer.”
The priority for Auckland Transport was to develop a solution that provided the safest outcome while planning for future growth in the area, he said.
“This hasn’t been easy, as we have gone through the detailed design process we have found a number of complications relating to the existing geotechnical condition of the road. The design has been modified to minimise the impact caused by these findings.