The Waikato Chamber of Commerce has launched a petition to government to extend the Waikato Expressway from Cambridge to Piarere.

In its submission of the petition, the chamber said: “Too many lives have been lost on the road between Cambridge and Piarere. There are numerous calls to fund this extension of the Waikato Expressway. Prior to the 2017 change of Government, Cambridge to Piarere was funded for construction. Waka Kotahi is proposing a 16km extension from the southern end of the Cambridge section, but the design has not been completed and there’s no funding for construction. We urge the Government to measure the urgency of the upgrade in lives, not dollars.”

Click here to sign the petition. The petition closes on 6 October 2023.

A website has been set up explaining the reasoning behind the petition and the need for upgrades to the road. It states that 29 people have been killed and 97 seriously injured on the road since 2000, and that a reduction of 70% in deaths and serious injury crashes can be achieved with the upgrades. Estimates of cost to build are $635-million over four to five years.

For more information or to receive updates, visit cambridgetopiarere.com.

Transporting New Zealand has put itself behind the petition.

“The condition of the road is poor and if left in its current state, it poses unacceptable risks to our industry and all motorists,” the association said.

“There has been only one new roading project approved by the Government since its election in 2017 (the replacement to the Manawatu Gorge). To make progress in transport again, we need a commitment to build newer, safer roads such as Cambridge to Piarere.”