New Zealand Transport Agency southern business unit manager Ian Duncan said the agency had applied a new calcined bauxite skid-resistant road surface at the traffic lights at the intersection of the Southern Motorway and Andersons Bay Rd.
Calcined bauxite was an extremely hard aggregate which retained the sharp edges produced at the time of crushing.
The ''high friction'' property greatly enhanced skid resistance, resulting in better grip for vehicles and decreased braking distances.
The skid-resistant surface had the potential to prevent crashes and reduce the severity of crashes at potentially high-speed and high-volume intersections, he said.
''This is the first large-scale installation of the surface on the state highway network in Otago, and the agency will be monitoring its effectiveness.''
The treatment at this intersection cost about $70,000 and involved the application of an epoxy to hold down the bauxite chip.
The treatment was a ''proactive safety measure'' to upgrade the intersection and had not been applied in reaction to crashes.
The surface could also be used at pedestrian crossings and rail level crossings and had been used on other highways across New Zealand.
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While NZTA is trying to improve safety by adding grip, nearby the DCC are doing the opposite.
The main lights in South Dunedin now have a super slippery green patch, right at the point where it could be the difference between a car stopping, or killing, a pedestrian. Even under normal wet driving conditions cars are slipping on this.
Like the Tedder St intersection, this is idiotic beyond belief.