Protest against State Highway 2 median barriers north of Tauranga today

People have been protesting on and off along SH2 for several weeks. Photo / Blake Judson.

Motorists travelling between Tauranga and Katikati have reported traffic delays caused by protesters.

SunLive reported last week plans for the protest today.

SunLive readers said there were people protesting on SH2, near Sharp Rd.

One reader reported that some people were on roundabouts and that people should drive with care in the area.

Residents who live along SH2 are protesting NZTA’s installation of median barriers on the highway.

The barriers are being installed as part of the SH2 Waihī to Ōmokoroa safety improvements project for the NZ Transport Agency.

A spokesperson for the roading agency said the aim of the barriers was to prevent head-on crashes, save lives and prevent serious, life-long debilitating injuries.

“We acknowledge these barriers can make life a little bit more challenging for some road users, however we believe the risk of not making it home altogether is much worse,” NZTA said in a statement to SunLive.

“Research shows where they are installed, median barriers typically reduce the number of people killed or seriously injured in crashes by 75%.”

In a previous story on SunLive, a protest organiser warned that “this would be quite a big event”.

“Please come along and show how you feel and think about the proposed median barriers,” the road representative in the email they sent out to all side road residents said.

Residents said they were not opposed a centre barrier, they were asking NZTA to allow right-hand turns into side roads that barriers will cut off.

They said they were at least eight side road that will be closed, with near to 1000 households on them.