Upgrade waits as crashes pile up
It was identified as ‘‘high-risk’’ and tagged for a $30 million safety upgrade almost 18 months ago, but it will be at least another year before work get underway on a dangerous stretch of State Highway 1 south of Timaru.
Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency has confirmed it has entered the ‘‘detailed design phase’’ of the major safety upgrades – which is expected to take about a year.
That news came just weeks after another person was injured in a two-car crash on the stretch of road which has already seen at least four crashes in 2023. Those include one which saw two people taken to Timaru Hospital on January 26 and another where a person was airlifted to Christchurch Hospital in a serious condition.
The safety upgrade covers 12.6km between Timaru and St Andrews and is part of the $30m dedicated to improving the highway’s safety announced in September 2021 as part of the National Land Transport Programme.
‘‘At this stage of planning we are investigating potential design improvements, which is why gathering community feedback will be an important step for the project this year,’’ the spokesperson said.
‘‘We’re getting ready to prepare materials for sharing our plans with the community, which will include the installation of lengths of flexible road safety barrier and turning facilities.
‘‘We’ll be starting engagement with transport stakeholders including South Canterbury councils in coming months, with wider community engagement to follow.’’
The stretch of highway has long been considered dangerous and crash prone with the spokesperson saying it’s been is identified as a ‘‘highrisk section of highway.’’
In the five-year period to the end of 2018, 21 people were killed or seriously injured on the stretch of road, they said.
The spokesperson said when safety barriers are fitted along the side and centre of the road, they can reduce the number of people killed or seriously injured in crashes by up to 75%.
‘‘Barriers catch vehicles before they can collide with something harder like a pole, a tree or an oncoming car.
‘‘The steel cables flex on impact, slowing down your vehicle and keeping it upright. They also absorb the force of impact so those inside the vehicle don’t have to.
‘‘As a result of ongoing investigations in 2022, changes were made to the proposed mix of improvements such as replacing roundabouts with turnarounds and ‘U turn’ facilities, adding lengths of edge barrier and intersection speed zones.’’
The detailed design phase includes talking through Waka Kotahi’s planned changes with the community, mainly because access to the highway will change for some people including residents, emergency services and people using the highway to relocate large farm equipment for example.
‘‘We will also be working through property and consenting processes during this project phase.’’
The scoping estimate for the project cost as at May 2021 was $29m and a revised cost estimate for construction will be included as part of detailed design, which will be subject to funding approval.
One key area is near the township of Pareora, where there have been several major crashes over the past few years including fatal crashes in 2017 and 2018, and resulted in a petition calling for improved road layout and lower speed limits through the area.
Previous crashes include a milk tanker near the Craigie Rd intersection on August 21, 2021 and three vehicles involved in a collision at the intersection with Pareora River Rd on September 9, 2021.
In January 2021, firefighters had to cut a person free from a vehicle after two cars collided head-on and on December 16, 2022, a commercial bus crashed off the highway into a ditch at Salisbury.
‘‘Barriers catch vehicles before they can collide with something harder like a pole, a tree or an oncoming car. The steel cables . . . absorb the force of impact so those inside the vehicle don’t have to.’’
Waka Kotahi spokesperson