Napier-Taupō Rd fix: Waka Kotahi to improve Tarawera Cafe entrance after fatal smash

Work will start on Monday to remodel a Napier-Taupo highway danger-spot where a man was killed and nine others were injured last year.

The plans were confirmed to Hawke's Bay Today by Waka Kotahi New Zealand Transport Agency regional transport system manager Oliver Postings who said the work at the road entrance to the Tarawera Café, formerly the Tarawera Hotel and near the halfway point on the SH2/SH5 route from Napier to Taupo, is to make the entrance safer and easier to access.

"The entrance will be made into a single accessway, rather than separate in and out accessways, to prevent confusion for vehicles wishing to access the cafe," Postings said.

"This also means that the entrance will be located further south to provide better sight distance for northbound vehicles to see vehicles turning right into the cafe."

The scene last October, including the remains of the barrier through which the truck crashed near the cafe carpark entrance after colliding with a van. Photo / File

NZTA will also be installing electronic signs to warn of vehicles turning in and out of the cafe, reshaping the pavement of the road into the café to reduce the steepness, and widening the left-turn slip lane for southbound traffic.

The crash last year happened mid-morning on October 19 as a van, bound for Taupo, turned across the road for a stop at the cafe and was struck by a truck and wine tanker as it veered to try to avoid the collision while also travelling towards Taupo.

NZTA has been been seeking public opinion on speeds on the highway and the possibility of reducng the limit on more than half the route, including Tarawera, from 100km/h to 80km/h. Submissions on the proposals closed last Sunday.

A young man said to have been the driver of the van has been charged in relation to the crash. He has not made a plea and is due to appear in Napier District Court next week.