Rochelle Wells, with Archie, 1, and Lachie, 3, and businessman Steve Day at the Devon Road and Egmont Road intersection, north of New Plymouth.

A dangerous intersection north of New Plymouth could be in for a much-needed design revamp to improve safety and lessen traffic delays.

Talks are underway between New Zealand Transport Agency, New Plymouth District Council and local roading advocates to find improvements to the 'seagull', or three-lane, intersection at the Egmont Rd and Devon Road/State Highway 3 'T' junction between New Plymouth and Bell Block.

Improvements may include traffic lights for motorists turning right, or having a roundabout installed.

SIMON O'CONNOR/STUFF Increased development saw more cars, and truck and trailers using the Egmont/Devon Rd intersection since it was completed.

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Long queues of cars and trucks are a daily feature at the junction, causing drivers to take unnecessary risks turning across two lanes on to the highway.

STUFF Roading advocate Tom Cloke and New Plymouth businessman Steve Day, with Brent Pelham, back in 2007 discussing the Egmont/Devon Rd intersection design.

Rochelle Wells, and her two young sons, Archie,1, and Lachie, 3, narrowly escaped serious injury recently when a car pulled out from Egmont Rd as they drove south towards New Plymouth on SH3.

The driver misjudged the distance he needed to get across the two lanes.

"The next thing I remember is seeing a black car drive out in front of us and before I could even brake, the front of our car smashed directly into its side," Wells said.

"Our car continued to roll after impact as I struggled to comprehend what had happened, and search for the brake and get my kids out of the car as it filled with smoke."

Her abiding memory is Lachie's screams from the impact as the air bag exploded.

"I'm not a risky driver," she said.

"I am incredibly grateful that we all walked away from it."

Wells said motorists waiting in the queue on Egmont Rd to cross to SH3 are under pressure and making poor judgements.

"The combination of the speed, crossing a double lane, levels of traffic along SH3 and increasing traffic build up on Egmont Road is not conducive to people making safe decisions," she said.

"No one wants their child, grandchild, partner or parent to be the next case study."

New Plymouth businessman Steve Day said design changes were crucial if safety was to be improved.

Day was critical of the design when the road was built in 2010, arguing that the intersection would not be able to safely handle an increase in cars and trucks.

"This had been proven to be correct," he said.

Day, whose heavy engineering business is located close by, said significant increase in the development of industrial sites near Egmont Rd had placed more pressure on the intersection.

There had also been increasing bulk truck and trailer movements from Port Taranaki crossing into Egmont Rd from the south, he said.

National Road Carriers Association executive Tom Cloke​ said the roading industry had opposed the current intersection design during a district council plan change.

Cloke said support for a roundabout was ignored at the time, and the 'seagull' design was seen as best to handle the high traffic volumes.

"Seagull-type intersections don't work for creating ideal traffic movements and roading engineers don't use this design anymore," he said.

"The traffic delay is the problem, but we have had a positive response from NZTA and council to find a resolution."

NZTA systems manager Ross l'Anson​ said, in a written statement, the agency had begun investigations into possible safety improvements on SH3/Egmont intersection.

"We are working with the New Plymouth District Council and key stakeholders throughout the process and we will also consult the public during these investigations."