Safety barriers will be installed along QE II Drive in a bid to stop crashes.

A $3.9 million New Zealand Transport Agency safety upgrade, including roadside and median safety barriers and improved road markings, is planned for the stretch between Innes and Burwood Rds.

The wire cables flex to absorb the impact of a crash, slow the vehicle down and direct it away from oncoming traffic, trees, pot holes or ditches.

The cables have been proven to reduce road deaths by 70-80 per cent.

The highly reflective road markings will be easier for motorists to see in wet weather and at night.

From 2006 to 2015, one person died and 13 people were seriously injured on the stretch of road, NZTA system manager Peter Connors said.

An elderly woman died after a crash on QE II Drive, between Marshland and Burwood Rds, in September.

The project is out for tender and construction will depend on tender negotiations.

“However, we are aiming for construction to be completed during the
new financial year, 2018/19.”

Mr Connors said NZTA is working to ensure the project co-ordinates with the Northern Corridor project, which connects to the route.

A project report said: “New residential developments nearby and the opening of Avonside Girls’ High and Shirley Boys’ High in early 2019 mean this road can only get busier.”

It is part of a nationwide NZTA plan, which has pumped $600 million into improving safety on roads around the country.

-Star.kiwi