Consultation with the community on proposed speed limits for State Highway One both north and south of Kaikōura by the New Zealand Transport Agency has begun.
In December 2017, when SH1 re-opened after the 2016 Kaikōura earthquakes, an emergency speed limit of 80km/h in the areas north and south of Kaikōura was put in place on sections of the highway between the Clarence River (north of Kaikōura) and the Conway River (south of Kaikōura).
“As the emergency speed limit expires shortly, the Transport Agency is undertaking a speed management review to set permanent, safe and appropriate speeds for these sections of highway,” says Tony Spowart, Principal Traffic and Safety Engineer for the Transport Agency.
“Many of these sections of highway are bounded by railway and coast and there are a large number of high-risk curves. There is also additional risk with many people wanting to stop in the various amenity areas on this picturesque road,” says Mr Spowart.
For the five year period from 2012 to 2016, four people were killed and 15 people seriously injured on these sections of highway.
State Highway 1 was re-opened in December 2017 under an emergency speed limit of 80km/h. In the period since the road was re-opened, extensive road repairs continued.
“Since then up to August 2018, there have been no deaths or serious injury crashes on this road, but there have been seven crashes, with six minor injuries.”
The Transport Agency’s public consultation on the proposed permanent speed limits on these sections of highway will run until Friday, 2 November, 2018.
