20km of road, 34 years, 48 deaths: Call for action on SH2 black spot near Upper Hutt

Wednesday, 6 January 2021

Upper Hutt Mayor Wayne Guppy says serious crashes have become a fact of life on the section of SH2 that passes his city. He says the road was never meant to handle the amount of traffic that now uses it. (First published January 2021)

It’s a disgrace that nearly 50 people have died on a 20-kilometre stretch of State Highway 2 in Upper Hutt, the city’s mayor says.

Wayne Guppy made the comments after two more people were recently hospitalised following crashes on the road – a motorist in a two-vehicle accident on Christmas Eve, and a cyclist struck by a van on Monday. He has joined a chorus of others calling on authorities to stop the carnage.

Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency figures show 48 fatalities between Western Hutt Rd and Kaitoke since 1987 – the year the River Road section was opened to by-pass the city. Three deaths have occurred on the stretch since August – two on River Rd, the other on Main Rd North further along SH2.

Statistics from the Ministry of Transport’s website show there were 13 road deaths in the Wellington region in the 12 months to January 4, 2021.

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Upper Hutt councillor Angela McLeod and Mayor Wayne Guppy have added their voices to a chorus of calls to make the stretch of SH2 near the city safer.

“[River Rd] was never meant to cope with the level of traffic that’s on it now. It was meant to be an arterial route for the city, not a state highway. There’s no other way to describe it but ‘dangerous’,” Guppy said.

The volume of traffic on SH2 was increasing by the day as the region’s population grew. Serious accidents were happening every other week, he said.

“There have been problems on it since day one. They wouldn’t build it like this today – it was done cheap and nasty.”

One person was killed and two seriously injured in a crash on River Road, SH2 near Upper Hutt in November.

The recent deaths had been tragic, he said.

In August, motorcyclist Rachel Pawsey died when she was struck by a car at the Moonshine Hill Rd intersection with River Rd, while in October another motorcyclist died further north on Main Rd North in Timberlea. In November someone was killed in a two-car crash on River Rd.

Wellington District road policing manager, Inspector Wade Jennings, said the Upper Hutt section of SH2, in conjunction with the section that runs south to Belmont in Lower Hutt, was one of three high priority roads in the region. The other two are the Kāpiti Expressway, and SH2 between Featherston and Masterton.

High traffic volumes, and multiple on and off junctions created conditions where accidents were likely to occur, he said. The road also frequently changes from two lanes to one along its length.

Remutaka MP Chris Hipkins is an advocate of a four-lane expressway from Ngauranga to Upper Hutt, which he believes will improve safety in SH2.

The many light-controlled intersections and passing lanes could also frustrate motorists.

Upper Hutt City councillor Angela McLeod said changes intended to improve safety near Upper Hutt over the years such as the lights did provoke bad driving.

“People make mistakes, but people shouldn't have to die for them.”

She avoided using River Rd as much as possible because she believed it was dangerous.

Both Guppy and McLeod said the road was in need of a redesign with the intersections and speed limits in particular need of attention. Making the road four lanes across its length would also make it safer, Guppy said.

Remutaka MP Chris Hipkins said he’d long had concerns over the road and was also an advocate of the making the road two lanes in either direction.

“Ultimately SH2 needs to be a four-lane expressway from Ngāūranga to… beyond Upper Hutt.”

He said that undertaking would require a large investment and would take time, but it was clear more immediate solutions were needed to prevent more crashes.

Waka Kotahi regional transport systems manager Mark Owen said the agency was prioritising an assessment of the speed limit on the southern part of SH2 which included the section near Upper Hutt.

There was no plan for a four-lane expressway but safety improvements were being planned for the corridor between Lower and Upper Hutt, he said.

“It is expected that the improvements may include a median barrier at the northern end of the corridor, localised speed reductions, raised safety platforms and other speed management devices such as signage.”

Jennings said the speed camera vans and patrols were busy on SH2 near Upper Hutt as a means of deterring people from taking risks.

Despite the police’s efforts to keep road users safe, there was no substitute for motorists driving within the speed limit, avoiding driving while intoxicated and wearing their seatbelts, he said.