Road works are underway right now to make the higway link to Tauranga from Auckland safer for motorists, says Associate Transport Minister David Bennett.

The work includes the instalment of flexible safety barriers in high risk areas as well as rumble strips and the widening of property entrances along State Highway 27, from Tatuanui to north of Matamata.

'The Government is committed to making our roads safer and has a wide ranging programme to achieve that,” says David.

'That includes efforts to install new safety measures, improving the quality of our roads, increasing the number of police and better educating motorists about road safety.

'This $4.3 million project is making a high-use road safer. This road not only leads to a favourite summertime spot of many Kiwis, it also falls into the golden triangle, which has the majority of New Zealand's freight go through it.”

The safety improvements will reduce the risk of crashes, make the stretch of road safer for people who travel on it and will provide a more forgiving environment for motorists who make mistakes when they are driving.

It is part of the $600m Safer Roads and Roadsides programmes - a series of safety projects being delivered over six years to reduce deaths and serious injuries on high-risk rural highways across the country.

Construction began this week and is expected to be completed by August.