Improving safety on State Highway 1B will begin today with a $1.5 million project aimed at reducing the risk of crashes between Taupiri and Gordonton.

The NZ Transport Agency's acting Waikato/Bay of Plenty highways manager, Niclas Johansson says over the past decade there have been eight deaths and five serious injury crashes on the stretch of highway.

Safety works are being carried out on SH1B.

'The majority of these crashes have come from vehicles losing control on the corners, running off the road, or crossing the centre line and hitting oncoming traffic.”

Side barriers and wider centre lines will be installed as a part of the project along the 10.5km stretch.

'The changes being put in place will reduce the risk of these types of crashes, making the road and roadside more forgiving and reducing the impact if a driver makes a mistake and crashes”

Work will also be carried out to improve visibility at the roundabout on the northbound exit of the expressway.

Improvements will also be made at the Bankier Rd intersection and to signs and road markings in low visibility areas.

The project is a part of a $600 million nationwide road safety programme, which will see safety improvements made to more than 90 high-risk sites on rural State Highways in 14 regions.

State Highway 1B improvement is expected to be completed by the end of October.