Far North roads: Locals welcome NZTA move to lower SH1 speed limits

The speed limit on SH1 between Moerewa and Kawakawa is again being reviewed.

The latest proposed speed limit changes on Northland state highways have been met with gratitude and relief from locals and officials.

After reducing speed limits from 100km/h to 80km/h, then reversing them back to 100km/h last year under the coalition Government, NZ Transport Agency [NZTA] is again proposing lowering speed limits on some sections of the Far North’s state highways.

They are:

• SH1 between Moerewa and Kawakawa: From 100km/h to 80km/h from east of Taumatamākuku Settlement Rd to north of Rayner St.
• SH10 Kaingaroa north and south: From 100km/h to 80km/h from southwest of Pukewhai Rd to northeast of Duncan Rd, and from southwest of Duncan Rd to southwest of Pairatahi Rd.
• SH12 between Opononi and Ōmāpere: From 100km/h to 60km/h from southwest of Pakanae Cemetery Rd to northeast of Fairlie Crescent and from 70km/h to 50km/h from northeast of Fairlie Crescent to south of Kokohuia Rd.

Bay of Islands Whangaroa ward councillor Kelly Stratford said most locals want the speed limit between Kawakawa and Moerewa restored to 80km/h.

“It needs to be 80 because those three bridges are so narrow, the trucks have gotten wider, there have been so many accidents on the bridges and between Taumatamākuku.

“It’s such a dangerous piece of road.

“I’m grateful they are relooking at this, because reversing it was a mistake.”

NZTA said the changes – being reviewed in line with the requirements of the Land Transport Rule: Setting of Speed Limits 2024 – are in response to “strong community feedback that current speed limits aren’t suitable for these stretches of road”.

The 2.75km Moerewa to Kawakawa stretch in particular includes three narrow bridges with limited visibility and increased use from trucks, tourists and pedestrians.

After a decades-long campaign by residents of Taumatamākuku, between Kawakawa and Moerewa, NZTA dropped the speed limit from 100km/h to 80km/h in August 2020.

It was later reversed back to 100km/h under retrospective rules for setting speed limits.

Roddy Hapati Pihema, who heads the Taumatamākuku Community Residents Representative Committee, said the community had always wanted the lower speed.

Roddy Hapati Pihema [left] has campaigned hard for improved road safety in the Far North settlement of Taumatamākuku.

He said there have been about five deaths and many other serious crashes on that stretch of road since 2009.

“I’m happy we get another shot at it, but a lot of our routes are in a huge disarray.

“If you drive down SH1 and look around, you see blotches of tar covering up potholes.

“It’s sad we have to continue to waste money, whereas it could be used in other areas.

“If they got it right the first time, we wouldn’t be in this situation.”

In January 2025, the Government announced the reversal of speed limit reductions on a large number of New Zealand roads.

The move was to reverse mandated “blanket” speed limit reductions introduced under Labour.

Consultation on the current proposal closes at 5pm on March 24. Visit nzta.govt.nz/northland-speed-reviews to have your say.

Jenny Ling is a senior journalist at the Northern Advocate. She has a special interest in covering human interest stories, along with finance, roading, and social issues.