A new roundabout, extra lanes and safety barriers are among features of a new $53 million road safety upgrade on Auckland’s State Highway 16.
The work will take place between Brigham Creek and Waimauku and is part of the government’s $600 million Safe Roads programme.
There were four people killed and 30 seriously injured on the stretch of road between 2006 and 2015.
Many deaths and injuries were caused by head-on crashes or drivers running off the road into trees, poles or deep ditches.
Transport Agency system design manager Brett Gliddon says the safety improvements will help ensure that simple mistakes won’t cost lives or leave people seriously injured.
The upgrades will also coordinate with projects in the Kumeu, Huapai and Waimauku urban centres along SH16.
“Improvements will include extra lanes between Brigham Creek and Taupaki roundabout to help with travel times, a flush median to give drivers more room and a safe place to turn, and a roundabout at the SH16 Coatesville Riverhead Highway intersection to help traffic flow,” Gliddon says.
Construction is expected to start by the end of 2018 and will be carried out in stages over three years.
The section between Huapai and Waimauku will get underway first. The Brigham Creek to Kumeu section is planned to start in February 2019 and finish in February 2021.
