Speed limit to be reduced to 80kmh on notoriously dangerous section of SH58

Friday, 14 September 2018

Four people have died and 15 have been seriously injured on the road since 2008. (File photo)

A notoriously dangerous section of state highway north of Wellington will soon be reduced to 80kmh, but the Automobile Association says there is still work to do to improve the road's safety.

The stretch of State Highway 58, between SH2 in the Hutt Valley and the Pauatahanui roundabout in Porirua, has been the site of almost 200 crashes since 2008, making it the Wellington region's most high-risk road.

NZTA put up covered 80kmh signs on the road in April, before public consultation on the new speed limit had closed. (File photo)

Among the victims, four people have died, 15 have been seriously injured, and 53 have suffered non-serious injuries.

New Zealand Transport Agency regional transport systems manager Mark Owen said the reduced speed limit, from 100kmh, would come into effect on September 22.

Almost 70 people have been injured on a dangerous section of SH58 north of Wellington since 2008. (File photo)

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It was hoped the change would have an immediate effect on crash rates.

'Safety is the transport agency's top priority,' Owen said. 'The new speed limit will only add one extra minute to the time to travel this section of SH58 at 80kmh. That's a small price to pay for the lives that will be saved.'

The move is part of a number of safety improvements planned for the road, including two new roundabouts, a median barrier, road widening, and improved access from side roads and driveways.

Project delivery senior manager Chris Hunt said the median barrier would be installed in stages as the road was widened, with work to start this summer.

There will be gaps for full movement at Harris Rd and Mt Cecil Rd, and for right-hand turns at Hugh Duncan Street.

But the AA's Wellington District chairman, Michael Gross, said while he supported the reduced speed limit and the proposed safety improvements, those improvements needed to be taken further.

Gaps in the median barrier should be kept to a minimum, and there should be a westbound passing lane to go with the proposed eastbound passing lane at Haywards, near SH2.

'Lowering the speeds that people are travelling will mean fewer serious accidents, though the AA believes it is important that current plans for a median barrier, wider shoulders and passing lanes are extended to reduce crash risks even further,' Gross said.

The association expected traffic volumes to increase when the Transmission Gully motorway north of Wellington opened in April 2020, so maximum safety was of paramount importance.

The 27-kilometre, four-lane motorway will run between Mackays Crossing in Paekākāriki and Linden in Wellington's northern suburbs, connecting with SH58 at Pauatahanui.

That meant more people were likely to use SH58 to access the Hutt Valley, rather than SH1, Gross said.

Temporary electronic signage will be installed to remind drivers of the new speed limit, along with permanent new road signs.