Waka Kotahi brings forward business case to improve safety on State Highway 5
Hawke's Bay's two local MPs are crediting their efforts for a "breakthrough" decision by Waka Kotahi to invest in the Napier-Taupō highway.
Labour MPs Stuart Nash and Anna Lorck say they are "delighted and relieved" to receive confirmation from Waka Kotahi that it will bring forward the business case for a $100 million safety infrastructure project for SH5 between Napier and Taupo.
In a joint announcement, MP for Napier Stuart Nash and MP for Tukituki Anna Lorck said: "This major investment for SH5 is the result of working together as a strong and united voice for Hawke’s Bay, with the full force of local residents from right across the region who made submissions, along with the councils’ collective support".
“On behalf of Hawke’s Bay, we spoke with the Minister of Transport Michael Wood along with making a joint submission to Waka Kotahi seeking a binding commitment of an over-arching strategy for SH5, “ Nash said.
“We fully support the vision and ‘Road to Zero’ strategy of Waka Kotahi for safer roads and to achieve this, it was unequivocal that for SH5 it had to be much more than ensuring speed limits are safe and appropriate,” he said.
Waka Kotahi Director of Regional Relationships Linda Stewart said it had been approved for inclusion in the National Land Transport Programme but was still subject to confirmation of funding from the Waka Kotahi board.
The project may include median barriers, side barriers, wide centrelines and intersection improvements, which will complement the current speed proposal and other smaller-scale improvements.
"We are still in the early stages of this project and the next steps will be to complete the feasibility and design work, and engage with our stakeholders and communities. We would then apply for consents and begin staged construction," she said.
In the short term, Stewart said Waka Kotahi had committed $2.5m for safety improvements on the highway over the next four months, including side barriers, road markings and rumble lines.
A further $16 million maintenance programme has been approved for the Hawke’s Bay state highway network. The programme is being delivered across the 2020-21 financial year and includes an enhanced maintenance package of $4 million for works on SH5.
As the region’s local MPs, Nash and Lorck said the pair worked and advocated hard for a long-term solution to make SH5 between Napier and Taupo a safer road for all to travel.
Lorck said it was also very important that Waka Kotahi kept working in partnership with local communities and key stakeholders to develop its overarching strategy for SH5 to give Hawke’s Bay the confidence that road fatalities will drop.
“In our submission, we agreed with the feedback received from our respective communities that there are areas of SH5 which would benefit from speed reduction, including areas around Te Pohue, Te Haroto and Tarawera.
“For example, the community of Te Pohue, should be given the opportunity to be part of developing the solutions for fixing this dangerous area of road,” Lorck said.
Waka Kotahi has already committed $2.5 million for safety improvements that will be carried out over the next four months, which included barriers, road markings and rumble lines. A further $16 million maintenance programme has been approved for the Hawke’s Bay State Highway network. The programme is being delivered across the 2020-2021 financial year and includes an enhanced maintenance package of $4 million for works on SH5.
