Teenager carries grandfather's ashes in State Highway 2 protest march

Tyler Roger, Aaron Holloway, Morgan Obern, Debbie Obern and Diana Obern. Photo/George Novak

Morgan Obern marched across Wairoa Bridge clutching his granddad's ashes.

The 19-year-old was one of hundreds of protesters who blocked the bridge on State Highway 2 to urge the Government to fix what has been labelled one of New Zealand's most dangerous and deadliest roads.

His message was clear: "Fix the road. Stop letting people die like this for no reason."

Morgan lost his granddad John Obern on the road last year. He said his granddad and grandmother were travelling towards Katikati when they crashed.

"There was some gravel on the road and the car just slid and crashed," he said.

Morgan said his granddad was in hospital for five days before he died on Christmas Eve, 2017.

He said he felt sad every time he drove past the section of road where his granddad died.

"But still, nothing has changed."

Morgan Obern, 19. Photo/George Novak

Three generations of the Obern family joined the hundreds of others to protest.

Protesting with Obern was his grandmother Diana Obern, 79, and his mother Debbie Obern, 55.

"We don't want any more lives suffering like we have suffered," Diana said.

"Our roads can be fixed. We cannot fix the people we have lost back into our lives."

Debbie Obern said her son's granddad's death was one of three fatal crashes in one week.

"We have had enough. It is tragic," she said. "Something needs to be done."

The words "What do we want? Fix the road. When do we want it? Now!" echoed as hundreds of people marched across the bridge, which stopped only a few dozen cars heading to and from Tauranga.

The Government has planned to put $101 million into safety upgrades into a 42km stretch of State Highway 2 between Waihī and Ōmokoroa.

But Sunday's march was to protest Government inaction and decision-making delays about the transport corridor between Bethlehem and Waihī.

Organiser Andrew Hollis said protesters felt they were being ignored.

"We are not getting listened to by the government. We have been ignored," he said.

Hollis admitted he did not expect to see the hundreds of people who gathered to have their voices heard.

"It just shows there are a lot of agitated people," he said.

Hollis hoped the protest would encourage the government to talk to them.

He said the last week of deaths on the stretch of road had been horrific.

"It is a horrific toll," he said. "We have had enough. It is tragic."

Hundreds turned out to protest. Photo/George Novak

Bay of Plenty MP Todd Muller, National leader/Tauranga MP Simon Bridges and Western Bay Mayor Garry Webber also attended the march.

Muller said he was there to support the local Te Puna and Ōmokoroa communities.

"The frustration of the community is palpable so it was appropriate to walk shoulder to shoulder with them," he said.

Western Bay of Plenty Mayor Garry Webber said he did not understand why time was being wasted on analysing the importance of fixing a road that had been proven to be an "absolute necessity".

"It doesn't matter who builds it, just get on and do it," he said. "The road toll continues to go up month by month."

Transport Minister Phil Twyford said the Government had invested $65 million in the next three years on urgent safety improvements.

Those improvements included upgrading 26 intersections, road and shoulder widening, centreline widening, and installing roadside safety barriers.

"I don't want anyone else to lose their lives on this road, no one does," he said. "I understand locals want State Highway 2 to be made safer as soon as possible."

Twyford said the NZ Transport Agency was about to begin construction on the first safety improvements between Waihī and Ōmokoroa and was re-evaluating State Highway 2 and considering all options to make the highway safer.

Charli Hollis, 9. Photo/George Novak