Kāpiti's mayor is demanding urgent safety action to fix the "killing fields" stretch of State Highway 1 where four people died yesterday.

Four people died in the crash involving a truck and a van south of Levin yesterday.

Kāpiti Coast Mayor K Gurunathan described the stretch of State Highway 1 between Ōtaki and Levin as the "killing fields highway".

Horowhenua Mayor Bernie Wanden is joining that call. 

Both mayors spoke to Wellington Mornings host Nick Mills. 

NZTA is working to build a new highway. A November update on the Ōtaki to north of Levin project says the highway is for the end of the decade.