Mayor calls for expressway extension Plea for road funds
A mayor is calling for the Government to replace a killer stretch of Waikato highway before someone else dies.
The victim of the latest serious crash on the notorious stretch of highway, on Friday, was now in a critical condition in the intensive care unit at Waikato Hospital.
Waipā mayor Susan O’Regan said Waka Kotahi needs to stop ‘‘fiddling around’’ and secure funding to extend the Waikato Expressway from Cambridge to Piarere.
The agency is proposing a 16km four-lane expressway from the southern end of the Cambridge section to the intersection of SH29/1 at Piarere, but there is no funding for construction until after 2027.
‘‘I’m strongly advocating for the Government to listen to us and look at what is going on,’’ O’Regan said.
There have been three fatal crashes on the stretch of highway to date this year, and nine people seriously injured.
This added to the six deaths and 26 serious-injury cases in the five years between 2017 and the end of 2021.
‘‘It’s been concerning for some time now, increasingly so,’’ O’Regan said.
The latest fatal crash was just before 5am on October 5. The driver of a van died after colliding with a truck and trailer unit, and the truck driver was left in a serious condition.
It was the same area that claimed the lives of Rotorua ambulance officer Susan Cutler and Aucklander Deon Hadley when an Audi and ambulance crashed in the early hours of September 15.
O’Regan said her heart went out to family and friends of those who had died or been injured on the road.
‘‘How many more people will lose their lives there?’’
The agency was in the process of implementing safety measures but O’Regan said she would hate for that work to distract from the need for the expressway extension to be prioritised.
‘‘We welcome any safety improvements, but we are desperately frustrated by the situation. There is a need for the Government to commit to funding.’’
Waka Kotahi’s director of regional relationships David Speirs said funding was not yet allocated for construction of the 16km highway between Cambridge and Piarere.
The total cost of the project, as estimated two years ago, would exceed $635m, he said.
Speirs said officials would continue to seek funding, but it was unlikely to be available before
2027 at the earliest.
He said the agency was currently in the ‘‘pre-implementation phase’’ since the business case was completed last year.
This involved route protection, consenting, identification of compulsory property acquisition and the preparation of tender documentation – which could take multiple years.
Speirs said the agency wouldn’t be in a position to start construction until consenting and land purchase was completed regardless of funding.
In the meantime, the agency was making safety improvements to the stretch of highway. They included the temporary reduction of the speed limit to 80kph, installing ‘High Crash Area’ and electronic warning signs, as well as installing and improving rumble strips, hit sticks and edge marker posts. A total of 7.7km of flexible median barriers would also be installed.
The road was to be resurfaced and the dangerous short southbound passing lane would also be taken out.
Data from Waka Kotahi showed alcohol and drugs were the biggest factor contributing to crashes in the area, followed by people’s position on the road.
The Waikato Chamber of Commerce called the safety improvements a ‘‘wet band-aid on a gaping wound’’ and launched a petition to extend the expressway.