SWMBO (She Who Must Be Obeyed is the Transport Manager at TRM) strongly advises all tourists and anglers to avoid SH1 between Turangi and Tokoroa. She recommends the SH 32 & SH41 route instead. Many regular TRM inmates from the north have thanked Her for recommending this change. The distance – around 116km – is about the same either way but the traffic density on the western side is less than 10% (a pure guess!) of SH1. The main reason is to reduce driving stress and to avoid the dangerous corners and road closures around the eastern side of Lake Taupo. TRM cannot afford to lose tourists… See below for latest evidence.

Another truck over the edge of Bulli Point today. (But it is reported as all OK as the lake will not be contaminated this time as it was frozen goods… SWMBO has been assured the trout will not be affected)

Other photos below confirm how frequently accidents happen in the last year alone.

After the last accident in July when a logging truck slipped over the edge of the dangerous 25 kmph corner, Taupō MP Louise Upston was due to show National Party leader Chris Luxon the troublesome stretch of road around Bulli Pt. on the Friday, before a public meeting in Taupō, but that had to be cancelled due to the road being closed at both the Taupō and Tūrangi ends.

The irony wasn’t a lost opportunity, though, with Upston saying a solution for Bulli Pt was her top roading priority for the region.

“Part of the plan was to take the leader of the National Party down State Highway 1, to explain why that’s the top priority in this region,” she told about 200 people, gathered in and around the East Wing of the Great Lake Centre for Luxon’s meeting, who erupted into laughter.

“As I say, the biggest project for me locally is State Highway 1, in all seriousness; and I know that the improvements on that road, not only is it about safety and productivity and efficiency, it is also making sure the lake is protected and we don’t have things that fall into it.”

Lake Taupō highway woes continue at Bulli Pt: Truckies forced to co-ordinate movements

10 Aug, 2023 NZ Herald Milly Fullick reported

Taupō-based linehaul driver Greg Walker talks about the dangers of Bulli Pt for truck drivers. Photo / Dan Hutchinson

Truck drivers and other users of State Highway 1 south of Taupō are calling for decisive action to improve safety at Bulli Pt.

The state of the road was “very dangerous” and “totally ridiculous”, said truck driver Greg Walker.

Sharp bends, poor camber of the road and overhanging cliffs made for treacherous driving, particularly for larger vehicles, he said.

The cliff face overhung so much across parts of the road that two trucks were unable to safely pass one another, meaning drivers had to co-ordinate their timing carefully to avoid accidents or road blockages.

The only option, he said, was for drivers to radio their positions and coordinate timings so trucks could safely cross the centre line without hitting another large vehicle.

Walker has been driving the Taupō to Wellington route five nights a week for the last 11 years.

He said the volume of traffic, combined with the size of trucks, made the journey potentially very dangerous.

“You have to be on your guard every night going through there. Most of us use CB [radios] to communicate when we’re going through.

“You’re completely on guard. Anything can happen around that stretch of road. It’s not fit for today’s traffic.”

There was no sign of relief on the horizon, with Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency’s planned works not slated to begin until 2024 at the earliest.

In May, $4 million was announced in the 2023 Budget for a project to build two retaining walls close to the Bulli Point corner.

Then-Transport Minister Michael Wood said the retaining walls and other “resilience projects” were ready to begin immediately.

However, Rob Campbell, Waka Kotahi’s regional manager of maintenance and operations for the Bay of Plenty and Waikato, said the works were unlikely to begin for some time.

“Scope and timing of this work is currently being confirmed, but work is likely to begin in 2024/25.”

Road plan has to go jump in the lake

November 2022

A notorious section of State Highway 1 where a truck crashed into Lake Taupō three weeks ago was denied a major safety upgrade in the most recent road funding round.

On November 6, part of Lake Taupō was turned bright reddish-orange after a truck crashed, spilling tonnes of meat and krill oil into the water at Te Poporo.

It is the latest in a series of accidents at the torturous stretch of road squeezed between rock cliffs and the lake edge, in an area surrounding Bulli Point.

Jess Andrew, regional manager of system design for Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency said a concept was developed in 2020 to widen the road towards the lake at Te Poporo, the overhanging rock just north of Bulli Point, where the truck went off the road.

 “This would provide more width for trucks passing at this point and improve the resilience of the road. Due to funding constraints, this was not funded in the current National Land Transport Programme (NLTP) period, but we are exploring options for funding this work in the 2024-27 National Land Transport Programme.”

A more comprehensive solution to the whole area, including Bulli Point, would require a new section of highway inland from Lake Taupō.

Krill oil and milk powder escapes into Lake Taupō after a truck crashes off SH1 at Te Poporo on November 6. Photo / Waikato Regional Council

“A new state highway away from the lake, between Taupō and Tūrangi or Waioru, has been investigated in the past; however, it is challenging and very expensive, requiring extensive property purchase and complex environmental matters to be considered. Any further work on a new offline state highway will require it to be weighed up against other national priorities.”

She said a new state highway would also be considered again for funding in the next NLTP.

A separate solution to just fix the issue at Bulli Point was more challenging than nearby Te Poporo because of a pa site on the rock above, which is significant to iwi, Andrews said.

“We appreciate the concerns raised by the community and the risks inherent in this stretch of state highway, which is notoriously narrow, especially for trucks.

“The topography provides a number of challenges when considering potential ways to make the road safer, given its proximity to both the lake on one side and steep cliff faces on the other.”

John and Elizabeth McCallum spend a lot of time at their holiday home in Jellicoe Point, just north of Te Poporo, and are all too familiar with the vehicles plummeting off the road into the lake.

They are worried about a casual attitude towards the environment of the lake and whether authorities are even prepared for a major toxic spill.