Improving capacity between Vickers Road to Hobson Street on State Highway 3, New Plymouth.
To improve capacity on the Vickers Road to city section of State Highway 3.
The upgrade will relieve existing traffic congestion on this busy stretch of road, improve safety, reduce travel times, improve the reliability of travel times, support future economic growth and support ongoing land development at Bell Block and Waiwhakaiho.
Improving capacity on State Highway 3 (SH3) between Vickers Road to Hobson Street are at the heart of the Vickers to City Upgrade. To achieve this, changes will be made at seven locations on this stretch of State highway. Also, alongside the existing Waiwhakaiho and Te Henui bridges two new bridges will be built and the road will be widened to four lanes for the majority of the route.
In 2008, a number of issues were identified in a joint strategic study by the New Plymouth District Council and Transport Agency NZTA (then Transit NZ) which were responsible for causing delays and other problems on the road.
Significant issues noted were:
Changes will be made at seven specific locations along State Highway 3 from Vickers Road to Hobson Street. Some key features include:
In 2008 a strategic study of the route was carried out by the New Plymouth District Council and the NZ Transport Agency (formerly Transit NZ). During the strategic study a variety of groups and individuals provided feedback, identifying issues with the road and suggesting how it could be improved.
In 2010 the Transport Agency investigated a number of improvements that could be made to address the issues identified in the study and ensure that this important link with the CBD, port, industrial and residential areas support different transport needs. When investigating the improvements, the Transport Agency reviewed growth projections and identified long-term and medium-term solutions.
In 2013 the Transport Agency asked the community to give feedback on the proposed designs. Following this feedback the designs were updated. These designs provide a medium-term solution in order to address the issues on the route, whilst also undertaking other future proofing actions such as the addition of new bridges.
CloseYou may notice that a number of the plans include closing or modifying state highway connections. This is because every highway connection can cause delays or safety issues when people have to slow down to allow others time or space to turn on or off the highway at much slower speeds. You may have seen some near misses or crashes when a vehicle has tried to turn on to SH3 from a side road or driveway.
To avoid these issues we spread out the highway connection points, and provide highway accesses that have good visibility and a high level of safety. This is why in newer road developments the NZTA has less highway access points but better layouts so people merge more easily and safely with traffic or have a separate space to turn off.
CloseWatson Street
Devon St East
Constance St
The parallel parking outside the high school will be removed. This will improve safety outside the school as traffic won’t be turning into or reversing out of the parking onto SH3. We do understand that this area is used for dropping off and picking up students and we will be working with the school to safely accommodate this.
CloseIn certain location along the route parallel parking will be removed. This will allow for the widening of the road and also improve safety as fewer cars will be pulling into and out of the parks. The road will be wider as a result of removing the parking. There will be sufficient space provided for vehicles pulling out of driveways to turn onto SH3 safely.
CloseIf you currently pull into your driveway from SH3 there won’t be any change to the access to your home.
CloseThe new bridge will be built right beside the existing bridge on the south side of the road.
Once construction is complete the existing bridges will be used for east bound traffic and the new bridges for west bound traffic.
CloseNo the existing road bridges will remain. However, the pedestrian cycle bridge at Te Henui has been taken down so the new bridge can be built. The new bridge will have two vehicle lanes and a shared cycle and pedestrian path.
CloseSome trees will need to be removed in order to construct the new bridges. Replanting will be undertaken in the area once construction is complete.
CloseThe Transport Agency is always looking to help better connect people to the things they do every day both locally and across New Zealand and will continue to review the needs of road users along SH3, particularly if the volume of traffic increases and there are issues that need to be addressed.
CloseProviding improved walking and cycling facilities is another key part of this project. The proposals include on-road cycle lanes for those cyclists who want a faster and more direct route than the separate shared path facility along the coast of New Plymouth. As New Plymouth is a model cycle community New Plymouth District Council have been working closely with the Transport Agency to ensure all types of cyclists can use the route. We will insure that where cyclists travel on the State Highway, that the facilities and speed restrictions are appropriate for their safety.
CloseAll land purchase has been completed for the project.
CloseThe consultation report(external link) was published on 31 October 2013.
CloseThere will be four lanes along the majority of this section of road from Smart Rd to Watson St.
The proposal does reduce the route to three lanes between Hobson St and Te Henui Bridge as there is limited space between the road and private properties.
CloseYes there will be four lanes. Initial designs reduced the road to three lanes under the overbridge, due to limited space available to widen the road corridor.
Public feedback on the initial design clearly favoured four laning in this area and the Transport Agency decided to invest in the four laning now to ensure we didn’t need to revisit the project at greater cost and disruption years down the track. The ability to widen the road to four lanes was made possible by KiwiRail's agreement to allow the Transport Agency to buy land alongside the road corridor.
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