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State Highway 58 Safety Improvements—Construction Stages 1 and 2A

Turning one of New Zealand’s most dangerous roads into a safer and enjoyable journey for drivers

  • $56M

    Contract Value

  • 77000

    M3 Cut and Fill

  • 185m+

    Retaining Walls

  • Wellington, New Zealand

    Wellington, New Zealand

Making a road safer and stronger while protecting the local environment and ecology

State Highway 58 had been identified as the second worst performing highway in New Zealand, with a history of severe crashes causing serious injury and death—something had to be done. Waka Kotahi, the New Zealand Transport Agency, engaged us to help provide better visibility, more safety features, and a less demanding journey.

Several factors made the road difficult to drive, including poor-visibility corners, elevation changes, and a challenging route, with many heavy vehicles in the traffic mix. Frequent lane closures for accidents and ongoing, increasingly frequent road repairs added to driver frustration. After a careful analysis of the road’s geography and traffic patterns, our solution saw challenging bends modified or eliminated, slow vehicle passing lanes installed on uphill sections, and roadside safety barriers and traffic cameras fitted. Anticipating an increase from 15,000 to 20,000 vehicles per day, the redesigned road accommodates more traffic, more safely.

Other works to enhance the longevity of the road included stabilisation work to new cut slopes with roadside walls, reducing the risk from future rock falls. Retaining walls below the road reduced future landslip risk and protected essential infrastructure. We also added facilities to assist with fish passage and 8,300 new plants to offset vegetation loss from the adjacent regional park. The changes improve access for the local community, trip times are reduced, and it’s predicted death and serious injury crashes will reduce by 70 percent.

At a Glance

Offices
Client
  • Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency
Award
IPWEA NZ Asset Management Excellence Awards 2022—Best Public Works Project over $5M
Award
IPWEA NZ Asset Management Excellence Awards 2022—Road Safety
Meet Our Team

Te Rina Daniels, Graduate Communications and Engagement Consultant

No two clients are the same—I enjoy the challenge of pulling solutions from experience, reinventing the wheel, or both.
Te Rina Daniels Graduate Communications and Engagement Consultant Read More

Martin Gribble, Practice Leader, Pavements and Surfacing/NZ Transport Quality Manager

I combine my knowledge of pavement design theory with practical engineering, balancing technical solutions against construction and budget.
Martin Gribble Practice Leader, Pavements and Surfacing/NZ Transport Quality Manager Read More

Te Rina Daniels

Graduate Communications and Engagement Consultant

Martin Gribble

Practice Leader, Pavements and Surfacing/NZ Transport Quality Manager

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