Work to improve safety on State Highway 1 between Cambridge and Piarere will get underway early next year, says the New Zealand Transport Agency.

The $8.1 million safety project will focus on a 17km section of SH1 which stretches from the end of the Waikato Expressway near Cambridge to the intersection between SH1 and SH29 near Piarere.

The project includes creating a wide centre line to reduce head on crashes, installing side barriers in high-risk areas, to reduce the impact of run-off road crashes, and upgrading signs to make high risk areas more visible.

NZTA Waikato highways manager Niclas Johansson says the work will provide immediate safety improvements ahead of a detailed investigation to identify long-term solutions for the 17km section which has seen 13 deaths and 45 serious injuries from crashes over the past 10 years.

'This section of State Highway 1 is a critical link for tourism and freight, connecting Auckland to the Waikato and Bay of Plenty and further afield to the central North Island. These improvements will make this key route safer for everyone who uses it.”

Niclas says in parallel with the immediate safety improvement work being undertaken, the NZTA will be considering longer term solutions for this key route through the upper North Island.

A comprehensive engagement process with stakeholders, road users and the community will start now to identify the preferred long-term solutions for SH1 and SH29.

The upcoming safety work is part of the Government's Safer Roads and Roadsides Programme that is targeting 90 high risk sites on rural state highways around New Zealand.

For more information visit the New Zealand Transport Agency's website at: www.nzta.govt.nz/c2p