A roundabout has been suggested to improve safety at the intersection of Roberts Line and Napier Rd, Palmerston North.

A stretch of road from Palmerston North to Ashhurst has been named one of the top 10 most dangerous state highways.

In a list released by the Automobile Association, State Highway 3 was highlighted as one of the worst highways based on crash data from 2012 until 2016.

There have been two deaths, nine serious injuries and 42 minor injuries in that time.

Palmerston North mayor Grant Smith said he had called for the NZ Transport Agency to do something about this stretch of road for some time.

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"Really, the city stretches to Whakarongo School, that's where the city starts, and we are advocating for a lower than 80kmh speed limit."

Smith said creating a list like this might highlight the issue, but what needed to happen was action.

Smith said Manawatu needed the support of politicians to get things happening.

Real estate agent Andy Stewart said he also thought the speed limit needed to be lowered.

Stewart lived in the area and said that when he moved there three years ago he witnessed five accidents at the Roberts Line intersection in the first three months.

"Those intersections, they are dangerous."

He felt the speed limit should be made 70kmh from the Stoney Creek Rd intersection by Whakarongo School right into town.

NZ Transport Agency regional transport manager Ross I'Anson said other than the construction of a left-turn lane at the James Line intersection, only maintenance works had been undertaken on that stretch of SH3 in the past 10 years.

Most of the crashes had been at the intersections of Roberts Line, James Line and Stoney Creek Rd, he said.

"The NZ Transport Agency is currently going through a detailed business case looking at improvements for this stretch of SH3 Napier Rd."

He said a solution would be chosen in December, and a funding request would be made for construction early in 2018.

There was a combined 1652 serious injuries and deaths on the top 10 worst highways between 2011 and 2015. The AA is calling for a significant cash injection to keep Kiwi drivers safe.

​AA motoring affairs general manager Mike Noon said the "unforgiving" highways had risks most drivers did not see.

"If they make a mistake on these roads, the outcomes are extremely severe," he said. "You make the same mistake on our better-engineered roads, and it's a far lesser outcome."

A lot of work had been done on main highways, but not enough attention had been given to rural roads, many of which were tourist routes, Noon said.