A set of new average speed safety cameras will be installed on a busy stretch of State Highway 2 in Upper Hutt.
New Zealand Transport Agency said one camera would be put up in Te Mārua, with the other 4km to the west in the suburb of Brown Owl.
The agency said the new cameras were being installed to reduce serious crashes along the stretch.
“Fourteen people died or were seriously injured in 12 crashes on this stretch of road between 2015 and September last year,” NZTA head of driving regulation Chris Rodley said.
“Evidence shows this risk can be reduced if people drive to the speed limit. By installing average speed safety cameras here, we can encourage that - and if crashes do occur, the risk of death and serious harm is less. People do make mistakes on the roads. This is about reducing the consequences of those mistakes."
Average speed cameras measure how long it takes a vehicle to travel between two points, with drivers ticketed if they pass both cameras and their average speed is over the limit.
The speed limit on the Te Mārua is 80km/h, while the limit on the Brown Owl end is 70km/h.
Rodley said a survey from June 2025 showed 81% of drivers were speeding through the soon-to-be camera-enforced road.
"That is the highest percentage of all 17 sites around New Zealand where average speed cameras are being installed."
He said reducing speeds would also help locals with faster travel times.
"Crashes can close a road for hours at a time. Fewer crashes mean fewer road closures and more consistent and reliable travel times.
"This is particularly important for this section of State Highway 2, where no local road detours are available, and a serious crash can completely sever access between Upper Hutt and Wairarapa.”
Initial construction was to begin on March 23 with off road work, and was expected to take about three weeks. Traffic management would be in place while crews were on-site.
Other work, including installing signs, poles, and the cameras themselves, would take place over the coming months.
The cameras were expected to be operating later this year, with a date to be announced "in the coming months".
On Tuesday, NZTA announced four new sets of average speed cameras would start operating in Auckland and northern Waikato.
They were planned for Kahikatea Flat Rd near Dairy Flat later this month, and Pine Valley Rd (Dairy Flat), Whitford Rd (east Auckland) and on State Highway 2 between Pōkeno and Mangatāwhiri in April.
Rodley said that speeds were coming down in areas where cameras were already operating.
"Since the first average speed safety cameras began operating at Matakana Road in Warkworth, over 99% of vehicles are now travelling within the speed limit, compared with 88% when the first survey was carried out in September 2022."
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