The fifth death in two years was recorded on the stretch of highway near the tourist hot spot on November 22 when a 39-year-old Chinese woman, identified by police as Miss Li, died in a three-car crash at the boulders turn-off.
Local people said they were ``absolutely sickened'' by the deaths on the highway in the Moeraki district. They said pulling out on to the highway from Moeraki felt like playing ``Russian roulette'' and the Waitaki District Council wrote a formal request demanding urgent action late last year.
Just before Christmas, the NZTA announced a raft of safety measures for the area; NZTA projects team manager Simon Underwood said at the time that this month investigation and planning would be done for a rural intersection advanced warning sign (RIAWS).
The RIAWS was a ``comprehensive intersection safety system'' where the arrival of a vehicle on a side road approaching the highway triggered the electronic display of a temporary 70kmh speed limit for highway traffic and warned traffic about the intersection ahead.
Waitaki Mayor Gary Kircher said a RIAWS was ``absolutely a must'' for the area.
NZTA national media manager Andy Knackstedt confirmed yesterday the investigation had begun.
``It will involve working through physical design for the Rural Intersection Activated Warning Signs and the process for establishing a variable speed limit, which involves consultation with relevant stakeholders,'' he wrote in an email. ``We're hoping to complete everything by April.''
On December 23, Mr Underwood said the improvements would start before Christmas with the painting of bigger markings on the road and ``keep left'' arrows either side of the intersection. In the new year, the brown tourist sign for the boulders would be moved closer to the intersection, from 500m out to 300m out, and the give-way sign would be made bigger.
