Lower speed limit for crash-plagued section of highway on track

December 18 looks set as the likely date from which drivers will have to lower their top speed to 80kmh along a deadly stretch of State Highway 60 near Richmond.

The NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) plan is to drop the speed limit from 100kmh to 80kmh along the section of SH60 between Maisey and McShane roads. At the same time, lower limits will also come into effect on several Tasman District Council roads around that section of SH60.

Councillors on Thursday heard that the NZTA date was not ‘‘absolute’’.

‘‘The last communication we’ve had from the agency was the 18th of December,’’ council activity planning manager Dwayne Fletcher told the engineering services committee. ‘‘We’ve been trying to get a firm absolute . . . and we haven’t got a firm answer back yet.’’

However, yesterday NZTA confirmed to the Nelson Mail that December 18 was the date the agency aimed to have new 80kmh signs installed on SH60 between McShane and Maisey roads.

‘‘There will be print advertising leading up to this . . . and electronic warning signs on the highway warning people of the change,’’ a spokeswoman said. Social media channels would also be used.

The increasingly busy 100kmh section of SH60 has been the site of multiple fatal and serious crashes in recent years. As well as being a key commuter route for Nelson and Tasman residents, many visitors travel along it to reach popular tourist destinations such as Kaiteriteri, Abel Tasman National Park and Golden Bay.

The speed limit changes on council roads mean the 100kmh section of Lower Queen St along with Lansdowne Rd, Best Island Rd, Blackbyre Rd, Redwood Rd, Research Orchard Rd and Pukeko Lane will drop to 80kmh, while Barnett Ave and River Rd will be lowered to 60kmh.