A collaborative effort between the Judds Road Steering Group, Masterton District Council and KiwiRail has identified a solution for Judds Road in Wellington, New Zealand that will address safety concerns at the level crossing and enable the road to stay open.
In 2023, KiwiRail proposed closing the crossing completely to “create a safer and more efficient railway”.
It shared concerns about vehicles left sitting over the railway tracks while waiting to turn onto Ngaumutawa Rd, and said keeping the crossing open would necessitate $4.8 million in safety upgrades.
However, the suggestion of closing the crossing was met with a backlash from local politicians, businesess and residents.
Now, KiwiRail has announced a new design that will facilitate one-way access to Judds Road from Ngaumutawa Road, along with traffic islands to prevent traffic from exiting onto Ngaumutawa Road.
KiwiRail Programme Director Andy Lyon said the proposal is practical, affordable and achieves a good balance between safety and amenity for the community.
“We’re really pleased to have a solution that removes the risk of short stacking (vehicles left sitting over the railway tracks while waiting to turn) without the need for expensive traffic lights or closing the road,” he said.
“We know that ideally the community would have preferred to keep the access into Judds Road two-way.
“We originally drew up an option to allow for that, but it required traffic lights and other roading changes that made it unaffordable.
“Based on the current proposal, KiwiRail can cover the cost as part of the level crossing upgrade which includes barrier arms, lights and bells, and associated safety features such as traffic islands on Judds Road.”
Lyon said KiwiRail is mindful of the compromise that’s been made and appreciates the opportunity to work collaboratively to progress the latest solution.
“We will work closely with Masterton District Council to refine the final design,” he continued.
“Ideally we want to avoid changes to Ngaumutawa Road, as the cost of this work would be beyond the funding allowances of the rail upgrades.
“We look forward to getting work underway on the Judds Road level crossing upgrade later this year.”
John Cockburn, Chair of the Judds Road Steering Group, said the group is encouraged by KiwiRail’s commitment to organise a meeting of all stakeholders later in the month to discuss the longer-term options for the crossing to support a growing population.
“We will certainly be tabling our concerns with traffic flow into High Street at that time,” she said.
“We’ve worked for two years on behalf of the community to achieve this outcome and although it does not meet the goal we set out to achieve, it is a compromise position that is certainly far better than seeing the intersection close for good.
“An independent review carried out by KiwiRail’s own consultants, Aurecon, recommended keeping the crossing open if safety concerns were addressed to avoid an economic cost to the community of $2.7m per annum.”
KiwiRail is midway through its work to upgrade the Wairarapa line ready for the arrival of faster and more frequent services from 2029.
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