Traffic could be banned from crossing State Highway 1 at a notorious North Dunedin intersection if transport planners favour a low-cost fix.
Scenarios for shutting off part of Great King St to northbound traffic were looked into last year, and are set to be considered next year when a business case about broader State Highway1 work includes further examination of what should be done at the intersection with Pine Hill Rd.
The main issues there have included trucks having brake failure or brake fade as they come down Pine Hill Rd, inadequate visibility from Great King St and poor provision for cyclists and pedestrians.
Pine Hill Rd, SH1, provides the key northern entrance into Dunedin, but it conflicts with access from the central city to North East Valley.
Civil engineering firm WSP noted northeast-bound drivers in Great King St had poor visibility of southbound SH1 vehicles, leading to excessive queues, and some vehicles took "inappropriately small gaps to cross the SH1 movement".
A multimillion-dollar flyover or underpass had previously been touted as a solution, but Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency considered that "unlikely to be economic".
An alternative idea of installing traffic lights would not remove the critical safety risk of brake failures, it had been noted.
"Therefore, WSP was commissioned to investigate a low-cost, low-risk option that involved rerouting traffic via the northern end of George St and Bank St, and therefore removing the northbound cross-movement towards North East Valley," the firm said in its 2022 report.
Another idea, which would also shut off part of Great King St to northbound traffic, should be studied further, it said.
Drivers in Great King St could continue north on Pine Hill Rd, SH1, for a little longer before turning right into a link road to a new roundabout in George St and then into Bank St.
Among the issues would be loss of a straightforward access from North East Valley to the Northern Motorway.
Transport officials have studied the intersection of Pine Hill Rd and Great King St for more than 25 years.
Dunedin city councillor Jim O’Malley urged them not to discard the underpass.
Shifting the SH1 exit to the link road risked creating another set of problems, such as a queue near the proposed roundabout, Cr O’Malley said.
Dunedin should not have to put up with a cheap solution from the transport agency, he said.
The options from Waka Kotahi were "not really acceptable".
An "enhanced SH1" is part of the agency’s contribution to adjusting the transport network to accommodate construction of the city’s new hospital.
Regarding the option that would re-route northbound traffic to the link road, WSP said further analysis would be required to "establish whether the road safety benefits [were] significant enough to justify the investment".
The intersection is relatively close to Dunedin North Intermediate School.
"It is certainly a challenging intersection and there have been many accidents over the years, which would suggest that a safer option could be explored," school principal Heidi Hayward said.
Tenders for the broader SH1 business-case work close on November 2 and a contract could be awarded by the end of the year.
Regarding the Pine Hill intersection, the successful tenderer would be expected to draw on "the considerable work done to date, compile a longlist, fill any information gaps and undertake a feasibility analysis [and] investigate short-listed options to come up with a preferred solution to address safety issues."
