Project introduction

We've completed work to make State Highway 1 (SH1) Wellsford to north of Warkworth through the Dome Valley safer for everyone. This project is part of the government's Road to Zero Programme underway to prevent people from dying or being seriously injured on high risk state highways and local roads.

July 2023 update

This project has been completed, with more than 12km of safety improvements installed.

With regard to Stage 1 from Wayby Valley Road to Wellsford, following a review and in light of current circumstances, a decision to not proceed with this stage has been taken. Funding will be redirected into the wider programme of works for use on priority initiatives including recovery work across the country.

  • Project type

    Safety improvements
  • Project status

    Completed

Making the road safer

Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency worked to improve safety along SH1 in Dome Valley. This project forms part of the Road to Zero programme currently underway to prevent deaths and serious injuries on high-risk state highways and local roads. 

The project began in September 2019 and delivered safety interventions along a 12km length of corridor between Wellsford and Warkworth. The safety improvements through the Dome Valley include widening the centre line and road side shoulders, adding right hand turn bays and installing flexible road safety barriers.

This stretch of road has a poor safety record. Seven people have died and more than 30 have been seriously injured in road crashes in the Dome Valley in the last five years. No deaths and serious injuries on our transport network are acceptable and making the road safer is one way we can save lives.

What we did

With more than 10,000 vehicles travelling through Dome Valley on any given day, it’s critical that we made it safe.

The project was delivered in four stages (see map below). Stages 1 - 4 were completed in Spring 2022.

Work in these stages included:

  • Installing flexible median safety barriers to prevent head-on crashes and creating a wide centreline so there’s more space between oncoming vehicles.
  • Making road shoulders wider throughout Dome Valley so it’s safer to pull over, if needed
  • Adding new right turn bays at L Phillips Road/Sheepworld and at the Top of the Dome rest area to make it safer to turn.
  • Replacing the northbound and southbound passing lanes at the top of the Dome Valley with wide shoulder so slow vehicles have room to pull over.

Stage 1 of the project underwent a review in 2022 and the decision was made not to proceed with improvements.

Map

View larger map [PDF, 2.3 MB]