Waka Kotahi staff will front up to shoppers in Cambridge next Tuesday to discuss the proposed solution to one of the region’s biggest black spots.
The intersection of State Highway 1 and 29 at Piarere is to be moved and turned into a roundabout under proposals waiting for clearance from the Waikato Regional Council and the South Waikato and Matamata-Piako district counicls.
The roading agency will set up shop outside the BNZ in Cambridge next Tuesday from 3-6pm to give punters an opportunity to discuss the plans.
To create space for the roundabout, Waka Kotahi wants to swing State Highway 1 north west of the existing intersection, and establish the roundabout with exits to the main highway south and to State Highway 29.
A northwest exit from the roundabout, which initially will be a road to nowhere, would eventually be the link to the Waikato Expressway.
The intersection brings traffic from the south, north and Tauranga together. It is a busy business route and extensively used by holiday traffic.
National was set to extend the Waikato Expressway to Piarere, but the Labour led Government shelved the project – a move which drew considerable criticism.
Waka Kotahi has since approved a business case for the 16km, $630 million-plus extension of the expressway – but work will not start for at least five years.