Peak hour congestion is set to improve outside Whangārei Hospital soon, with work getting underway before Christmas to improve traffic flow at the State Highway 14/Hospital Road intersection.

We are making lane changes to Hospital Road to help traffic exit the hospital more efficiently. The current layout includes 1 left-turn lane and 1 right-turn lane exiting Hospital Road onto SH14. The new line marking will create 3 approach lanes: 1 left-turn lane and 2 right-turn lanes. This will allow more vehicles to clear the intersection and reduce delays on SH14.

The pedestrian crossing, islands and associated streetlights on Hospital Road will also be relocated slightly south to allow space for the new lane and improve visibility for drivers.

We’ve already installed thermo-signal cameras at the traffic signals to better monitor queue lengths and traffic flow and are now working on improving the signal coordination between SH14/1 and SH14/Hospital Road.

Works will take place between now and Christmas overnight to minimise disruption to road users. Traffic management will be in place, but the intersection will remain open. The work is weather dependent but expected to take around 3 weeks.

Access to the hospital will remain open at all times, with priority given to emergency vehicles.

Please keep an eye out for updated lane markings and signal changes, and drive with care through the area.

While this project is small in scale and won’t fully resolve congestion, it’s a quick, cost-efficient intervention we can deliver now to improve the network performance.

This work has been developed in collaboration with Health New Zealand Te Whatu Ora, and Whangārei District Council to support future hospital development works.

There may be changes to the planned works if weather is unsuitable. Please visit the NZTA Journey Planner websitefor up-to-date information on these works, including any changes due to weather. Journey planner

NZTA thanks everyone for their understanding and support while we carry out these improvements.

© Scoop Media