Commercial Vehicle Safety Centre aims to improve traffic flow on State Highways 1 and 3 between Bulls and Sanson

Motorists travelling on State Highway 1 and 3 between Bulls and Sanson will start to see the new Ōhakea Commercial Vehicle Safety Centre, or weigh station, building going up.

The new Commercial Vehicle Safety Centre at Ōhakea in Manawatū is expected to improve travel efficiencies for heavy vehicle operators.

NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA) advised that motorists driving on State Highways 1 and 3 between Bulls and Sanson would start seeing the new Ōhakea building going up.

The centre, formerly known as a weigh station, monitors heavy vehicles travelling past and provides data on operator behaviour such as heavy vehicle weight, load status, and driver fatigue.

The new centre is on Pukenui Road, outside the Ōhakea Air Force Base, near the newlyconstructed roundabout.

The stretch of the motorway is a high-volume freight route and at this new location heavy vehicles will be able to use the roundabout and pull into the centre from both directions.

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As part of the project, two sets of in-road scales (weigh-in-motion plates) will be installed in the northbound and southbound lanes between Bulls and Sanson. Automatic licence plate recognition cameras and two digital signage boards will also be installed on the side of the state highway.

Installation work and a short section of asphalting will take place during the year.

The new Ōhakea Commercial Vehicle Safety Centre building is under construction.

NZTA commercial vehicle safety programme manager Sean Bridge said the technology would help to streamline travel for operators because those not flagged during screening would not need to pull into the centre.

“The data we collect will give us really good insight into the behaviour of heavy vehicles on the network,“ he said.

“Using this data, we’ll be able to target our education and compliance work towards where safety issues are in the industry, protect our roads from damage and bring down road maintenance costs.”

Bridge said if a heavy vehicle was flagged during screening, the digital signage would instruct the driver to pull into the centre by showing the vehicle’s licence plate number.

Police commercial vehicle safety officers stationed at the centre would then ask the driver to drive over the weighbridge. Further compliance checks may be done, such as checking road user charges or logbooks or completing a vehicle inspection.

Acting Inspector Mike Flatt, national manager for the police commercial vehicle safety team, said the facility would help NZTA and police ensure drivers and vehicles passing through the region were safe and compliant.

“The team on site will be checking logbooks to ensure drivers aren’t fatigued, as well as driver impairment checks before they get back on the road,” he said.

The Ōhakea centre is on track for completion in early 2025. It is one of 12 planned as part of the national programme.