Police were called to a crash on Monday evening which closed State Highway 2 for several hours.

The cyclist who died on Monday after being hit by a car has been described as a "totally professional, totally honest, totally fair, Kiwi bloke".

Brent Norriss, 65, was killed after he was hit on his bicycle at 6.15pm on Hutt Rd.

As a result, State Highway 2 near Horokiwi was closed for several hours.

Mike Ellwood, a friend of Norriss, told Stuff his death was an "utter tragedy".

READ MORE: Serious crash between a car and cyclist closes SH2 in Horokiwi, Wellington

"His family are going to have a huge hole in their life. It is devastating. He had a wife, kids and grandkids," Ellwood said.

Norriss worked for the Commerce Commission and commuted from Christchurch to Wellington for work.

Norriss had worked hard at the commission "fighting" for everyday New Zealanders, Ellwood said.

"We have lost his skill, experience and knowledge. It is a tragedy for New Zealand. To be killed like that is not how someone should go.

"He was a real straight up good bloke. Always willing to help, wouldn't say boo to anyone."

At the time of the crash he had been cycling back to Ellwood's house in Lower Hutt where he stayed.

General manager of regulation for the Commerce Commission Nick Russ said Norriss would be "sorely missed".

"Brent was a genuinely warm, caring person who was always interested in other people, incredible humble and down to earth."

"He had a huge intellect and understanding of the electricity industry which he was more than willing to share with others. "

Russ described Norriss as a "mentor to many" who had immense knowledge of the electricity industry.

"After a long career in the electricity industry Brent came to the commission with the sole purpose of giving back to electricity consumers.

"He wanted to use his extensive knowledge to help us do our role better for the benefit of New Zealanders, particularly by better understanding the engineering challenges in the industry."

A police spokeswoman said on Tuesday officers would continue to investigate the circumstances of the crash.

Cycling Action Network spokesman Patrick Morgan said State Highway 2 was a well-travelled route but there was no bike lane even though it was the main connection between the Hutt and Wellington city.

People had been asking for a cycling route for a long time and there had been decades of promises, he said.

"But sadly for that person, it's come too late."

All there was to separate people on bikes from the cars was a line of paint.

ROSS GIBLIN/STUFF Police are investigating the circumstances of a fatal crash involving a car and cyclist.

"Paint is not protection.

"There's one particularly bad point and that is the Horokiwi intersection where you've got trucks turning up to the Quarry and there's no protection for people on bikes at that point."

The NZTransport Agency should move "heaven and earth to get a protective path built as fast as humanly possible", he said. He called on the agency to do an immediate safety audit of the crash location.

"It's a scandal that successive Governments have failed to provide for people on bikes so this death is what happens when Governments spend too much money on a handful of highways but too little on basic safety such as bike lanes.

"Our Government is accountable for this."

The plan to link Petone and Wellington with a shared walk and cycleway lane is underway, but has taken years.

In 2015, the NZ Transport Agency, which is leading the project, announced plans for a $35 million seaside route along State Highway 2 to unite the two cities and take cyclists off the busy highway. At the time, it said construction would start in 2019 at the latest.

In 2018, cyclists told Greater Wellington Regional Council's regional transport committee that the priority for the project was fading away – in 2012, it was ranked second out of 26 projects, before slipping to fifth in 2015 and eighth in 2018.

Last year, design planning to link Petone to Melling by cycleway started – the link with Wellington was still waiting.

In June 2008, a top road safety policeman, Steve Fitzgerald, was killed while riding a bicycle at the roundabout near the Petone Esplanade.

He was struck by an unloaded 12-metre container truck travelling in the same direction about 5.45pm.

Following the incident, coroner Ian Smith called for hi-visibility vests to be compulsory for cyclists.

He also called for a one-metre gap between motorists and cyclists to be added to the road code.

The Ministry of Transport said at the time it would consider the recommendations.