State Highway 1 is Northland’s most significant link to the rest of the country, but one section is also the region’s biggest killer.

Since 2008, 19 people have died on the road which runs from just south of Whangārei at Toetoe Rd, to the roundabout with Port Marsden Highway near Ruakākā.

More than 40 people were seriously injured during the same period, and then there were those who survived narrow misses and lucky escapes.

Northland roading officials and local body politicians are continuing to push for a four-lane highway, citing safety, access and resilience as extremely important reasons. But a change of government has seen a different focus on roading and meant the four lanes are now not an option.

Politicians agree the stretch of road must be improved but instead of a four-lane Highway, an alternate road, running parallel to the existing state highway, has been given the go ahead for the long term while safety improvements continue in the interim. Those improvements include florescent poles on the centre line, more passing lanes, pullover bays and upgraded intersections and median and side barriers.

John Bain, chairman of the Regional Transport Committee, has long pushed for changes to make the road safer to stop the carnage and to ensure Northland's economic lifeline is strengthened.

“I’ve been involved in this road for nearly eight years and in that time we have seen the number of vehicles multiply by a considerable amount. So in the summer period, three times the Northland population will head into the region, most of them using State Highway 1, including the section south of Whangārei to Marsden point intersection,” Bain said.

“This is the absolute arterial route for Northland, it is the life blood for Northland. Every tourist, every bit of freight that leaves here, goes down this road and it’s important we maintain it.”

Bain said the previous plan for the four-lane highway between Whangārei and the roundabout intesection would have taken out much of the heavy traffic. He had not given up on that plan and hoped remedial work on the existing route would lower the crash rate.

“But the reality is we have poor geology, we've got a problem building the roads and keeping them in good condition. We need to make sure when we do get this improvement that all these factors are taken in to consideration so we are proud to say it's State Highway 1, the main arterial route of New Zealand in to Northland. Resilience is important because if we have a crash and police have to close the road for a number of hours to do their thing the alternates around the country roads is just an abysmal trip over roads that have been there for hundreds of years and are not designed for the traffic we have got today.

Chairman of the Regional Transport Committee John Bain describes State Highway 1 as the arterial route for Northland and “the life blood for the region”. Photo / Michael Cunningham Chairman of the Regional Transport Committee John Bain describes State Highway 1 as the arterial route for Northland and “the life blood for the region”. Photo / Michael Cunningham

Florescent yellow poles on the centre line are part of the road safety improvements. Photo / Michael Cunningham Florescent yellow poles on the centre line are part of the road safety improvements. Photo / Michael Cunningham

John Bain with the yellow poles. Photo / Michael Cunningham John Bain with the yellow poles. Photo / Michael Cunningham

“There are lots of issues going back many, many years and it's successive governments that need to take the blame for some of it. We can't say it's all today, it goes back over a number of years where the improvements have not been made.”

While a second road may help, it was as good as putting a Band Aid on a gash according to Bain. “We need to make sure in the long-term planning for our roads in Northland that we have a four-lane highway similar to the one they have between Hamilton and Cambridge because that is proven to be the safest, most efficient road system that you can possibly get and that’s what we are after.

“Safety, efficiency and resilience - that’s what we are after.”

Police know only too well how dangerous the road is and in September 2018 it was identified as one of 10 hotspots around New Zealand that will come under tougher police scrutiny in an effort to reduce serious crashes.

But Northland police had already increased their presence and focus over the previous 18 months.

The NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) generated a list of 10 highways for police patrols to focus on in an effort to reduce serious crashes, with the analysis taking into consideration historical crash data, traffic volumes, speed surveys and physical road characteristics.

The stats showed the section of SH1 had more fatalities per kilometre than any of the other section of roads, with 19 deaths over the past 11 years. The figure equated to a staggering 0.74 deaths per kilometre.

Highway patrol Senior Sergeant Ian Row said police actively patrolled the dangerous section of highway with the resources available.

“In our weekly taskings, that specific piece of road has been a focus for the last 18 months. From our point of view, having regular, consistent enforcement there is a priority.”

Speed-camera vans were also being used in a bid to make the road safer and encourage better driver behaviour.

Row said the fact the Northland highway was included in the top 10 sites in the country only confirmed what local police were well aware of.

“Police are out there to be seen and enforcement has an impact on people's driving.”

NZTA numbers from the Crash Analysis System shows about 28,000 vehicles a day at the northern end of the corridor, with 5.4 per cent consisting of heavy vehicles. There are about 15,000 a day at the southern end, with about 12.2 per cent of the traffic being heavy vehicles.

The average for the whole corridor is 20,000 with 8.4 per cent heavy vehicles.