Working with communities to make our roads safer

The Safe Roads Alliance has been implementing a significant state highway roads and roadside safety improvement programme for the NZ Transport Agency since 2015. The Alliance was established to pool together Agency and industry resources to reduce deaths and serious injuries on high-risk parts of the state highway network.

Working together to improve safety

Beca has allied with NZTA to plan, design and then build multiple projects. From improved intersections to rumblestrips; side and median barriers to signage; and multiple other initiatives, the team has delivered tailored safety works to make the most impact for road users and for each community. A key feature of this programme has been engaging with and consulting with the wider community to secure wide support for these improvements. Read the details on all the projects delivered, planned and underway.

For our team, this programme of work has truly resonated with our purpose, ‘make everyday better’. Our programme and project managers, safety engineers, design engineers, business case and economic analysts, risk and health and safety managers and, crucially, community engagement advisors have been passionate about identifying cost efficient, effective safety solutions for New Zealand’s high-risk rural state highways.

Involving the community

The Safe Roads team believes locals know their roads best, so we work closely with stakeholders and local communities to find safety solutions that would make the greatest difference. The philosophy is “mistakes will still happen, but if our roads and roadsides can be made safer, more of us might survive those crashes”.

Working faster and smarter

Looking to get better all the time has been an ongoing goal for the Alliance. One example of achieving this is the Boost Safety Programme, a targeted programme of work to add a range of quick, low-cost safety improvements. This enabled early progress while we simultaneously worked on other more complex solutions.  By installing rumble strips and roadside barriers, parts of 30 regional state highways were made safer for all users. Safe Roads is also installing Intersection Speed Zones at 10 high-risk intersections around the country - this programme was extended in January 2019, to include 11 more rural state highways.

Ongoing partnership for safety

The Alliance has proven its ability to deliver complex programmes and continues to partner with the Transport Agency to support and guide long-term planning to ensure New Zealand’s road safety efforts make an impact and keep our road users as safe as possible. We are now also working with KiwiRail and the Agency to deliver a $26 million programme of level crossing safety upgrades on or near the state highway network.