As part of the safety improvements programme on the Waikato Expressway, the New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) will be installing flexible road safety barriers in the middle as well as on the sides of the Expressway and a new rumble strips on State Highway 1 (SH1) between Bombay and Hampton Downs.

The NZ$12m ($8.6m) project is slated for completion by the end of this year.

The safety improvement project is part of the government’s NZ$600m ($431m) Safe Roads and Roadsides programme.

"This work will also bring the safety standards on this stretch of highway closer to those of our newest sections of the Waikato Expressway."

SH1 is reported to be the arterial route between Auckland and Waikato and is used by nearly 22,000 commuters each day, including freight operators and motorsport enthusiasts.

The New Zealand Transport Agency Waikato State Highways manager Niclas Johansson said: “The safety improvements we’re making to this busy and important highway are expected to reduce deaths and serious injuries on this stretch of Expressway.

“This work will also bring the safety standards on this stretch of highway closer to those of our newest sections of the Waikato Expressway.”

Between 2010 and 2014 one person was reported to have died and five people were seriously injured on the stretch of the highway between SH2 and Hampton Downs, and in the same time period one person died and another person seriously injured between Mill Rd and SH2.

Johansson further explained that the new flexible safety barriers would reduce the risk of crashes, and will make the highway stretch safer for the people who travel on it.