Safer journeys a step closer in Taranaki

Work is set to ramp up on the long-awaited Normanby Overbridge Realignment project, which will vastly improve the safety of State Highway 3 between Hawera and Eltham in Taranaki.

Preparatory work on the $10.2 million project has begun this week, with full construction due to get underway in March.

The Minister of Transport, Simon Bridges, says the Government has sped up the realignment by fully funding the construction, as part of its Accelerated Regional Roading Programme.

“Over the course of its history, this bridge and its approaches have seen some horrifying crashes with tragic results. We want such tragedies to be a thing of the past.

“This project will reduce the risk of crashes by providing a safer, straighter, more forgiving alignment”.

Mr Bridges says the project will see the overbridge north of Normanby removed, and vehicles will now travel underneath, rather than over, the rail line. A new rail bridge and a new stock underpass will be built, as well as passing lanes in each direction.

Construction is expected to be completed in around two years and temporary road and rail diversions, as well as a site compound are already in place.

The realigned highway will head north on the west side of the railway, linking back via an underpass. In total, 3.6km of new highway will be built, shaving around half a kilometre off journeys.

As well as providing safer journeys for road users, the project will also provide valuable time savings for the 6,000 vehicles that use it every day, many of them trucks servicing local industry and agriculture.

“I’d like to thank the local community for all its efforts in advocating for this project to be progressed and I’m delighted the Government can respond in this timely manner” Mr Bridges says.

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