Care urged after roadworker injured
It’s great to be able to implement safer speeds ahead of the busy holiday periodwhen we see far more people using this section of SH2.
Wehad an incident on the Wainui SouthRdto EsdaileRdsection of our State Highway 2Waihı¯ to mokoroa safety improvements project on Thursday night last week, and one of our road workerswas seriously injured by amotorist.
Whileweare unable tocomment on this incident as it is the subject of a police investigation, everyone should be able to go to work and expect tocomehomesafely at the end of the day.
Our thoughts are with the road worker, his family and friends.
WakaKotahi, NZTransport Agency asks motorists to put themselves in the boots of our road workers and understand the impact their driving behaviour can have. Road workers are all someone’s husband, wife, father, mother, son, daughter, brother or sister. Be kind, slowdownand obey temporary speed limits, follow the instructions of traffic managementstaff and signage, and be patient.
In other news, weannounced the outcome of the State Highway 2 Katikati to Tauranga speed review on Friday last week.
FromFriday, December 11 the new, safer speed limits shownon themap willcomeinto effect. I’d like to thank everyonewhoprovided a submission and feedback on the proposed speed limit changes. Together with the community’s insights and our technical reviewwe have been able tomakean informed decision on these speed limit changes.
Speed increases both the likelihood of crashes and the severity of crash outcomes, so a small change canmakeahuge difference.
Toput the speed limit changes in context, if you were able to drive the 28kmfrom Katikati to Bethlehem with no interruptions, the lower 80km/hlimit would add about four and a half minutes— or about the time it takes tomakea cupof coffee— to your trip compared to the current mix of 100km/h and90km/hspeed limits.
More information on the permanent speed limits and our consultation summary, including the submissions can be found at: nzta. govt.nz/projects/sh2-kk-to-taurangapermanent-speed-limits.
Wealso had a significant milestone on the Waihı¯ to mokoroa safety improvements project earlier this month, with the completion of works between WharawharaRdand Sharp Rd, south of Katikati.
This section will undergo full width resurfacing before the end of the year as part of the annual highway maintenance programme, with works on SH2 between Waihı¯ and Bethlehem beginning earlier this week.
Finally, geotechnical assessments¯O for Takitimu North Link began at FifteenthAve in Tauranga on Monday. This work involves installing nails in the slope and measuring the force required to pull themout. This will tell ushow sensitive the soil is to disturbance and will inform the design of the connection to State Highway 29 Takitimu Drive Toll Rd. Workis expected to take three weeks.