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Connect Rotorua |
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5 May 2025 |
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Welcome to our May 2025 edition of Connect Rotorua. In this edition you can read about our latest work on SH30 Te Ngae Road, the results of the previous speed consultation, a new speed review consultation announced for SH30 and SH5 and much more. |
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What have we done and what's next?Work is progressing well in upgrading State Highway 30 (SH30) Te Ngae Road and Wharenui Road intersection - the final major work package in the current phase of our SH30 Eastern Corridor improvements programme. Most of the current phase of work that began in February is focused on service relocations, allowing the widening of Wharenui Road to provide a dedicated turning lane for people leaving Wharenui Road – a right turn bay, and a left turn lane. We’re also preparing to install right turn bays on SH30 Te Ngae Road for people travelling north and turning right into Wharenui Road, and for people travelling south and turning into the medical centre and pharmacy complex. To fit the extra turning bay on Wharenui Road we’ve had to remove the existing footpath, kerb and channel, cut the existing left lane, strip the topsoil and make improvements to the subgrade (the first layer under the seal) to build the new road on. We’ve ensured water assets are either in good condition and we’ve replaced or upgraded them within the project area. We found the existing stormwater line under the new left turning lane was in poor condition and replaced it. About 50m of 675mm and 750mm pipes were replaced, providing resilience to this part of the network. We’ve also built new driveways on Wharenui Road where the southern footpath has been rebuilt to make room for the new lanes. Pedestrians and cyclists will soon be able to enjoy the wider shared path (see picture below), new footpaths as well as pedestrian signals for crossing SH30 Te Ngae Road and Wharenui Road. Now that the complex power relocations have been completed and services laid underground, the next steps include relocating a watermain and services on Wharenui Road. A stormwater pipe has already been moved. Other work coming up includes pouring new concrete slabs for the traffic signal poles to be placed in and installing the traffic signals. Once installed, there will be electrical work required to ensure they are functioning properly before they are fully operational. Completing the new footpaths and new pavement, and line-marking will be followed by landscaping. We expect the majority of the work to be finished mid-2025. Some antiskid sealing product is still required on the approaches to the intersection. As this sealing is temperature dependent this may be held until the next construction season when the ground temperatures are warm enough to ensure a quality seal. This work is within the Eastern Corridor – Stage 2 project of SH30 Te Ngae Road from Iles Road to Rotorua Airport. We are addressing safety and connectivity, while accommodating for future growth and providing better travel choices. This is the first of 3 phases. Phases 2 and 3 will be triggered by growth and development of Rotorua. Both phases are currently unfunded. The shared path on the eastern side of SH30 Te Ngae Road has been widened near Wharenui Road. |
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Take care – we’re still hereSH30 Te Ngae Road is a state highway used by more than 21,000 vehicles a day near the Wharenui Road intersection, with about 11 percent being heavy vehicles. Both overall numbers and the proportion of heavy vehicles are increasing every year. Signs indicating road works have been around in some time, and for the crews working on our sites, these signs are an important prompt for people driving to think about your speed - to make sure everyone goes home safe at the end of the day. Road works are a necessary part of keeping the state highway network operational. The associated traffic management is designed to keep everyone safe – people working on site, residents, and those passing nearby – whether driving or a passenger, walking or cycling or in a pram or using a wheelchair. If everyone drives at the correct speed past worksites it makes crews on site feel safe, which allows them to work more productively and to go home to loved ones afterwards. Everyone in the community has a part to play in keeping people safe. Temporary speed zones are also used to indicate road environment changes such as reduced lane widths allowing for work zones, fencing, heavy machinery use, as people. |
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What lies beneath the ground?When planning any road works be it near a footpath or in the middle of the road, the team are always prepared - but hoping not - to find something beneath the surface that they didn’t expect. This can range from cultural artefacts to unidentified undergrounded services. In this project area the most exciting find was an old unused stormwater chamber. It had been covered over previously and unused for some time. In the words of the project engineer ‘they don’t make ‘em like that anymore’. Locating underground services is a crucial first step in a job and what’s found can change the nature or timing of a project substantially. We like to think all cabling, services, pipes, chambers are all on blueprints, plans, have the right permits, but a project team is never sure until excavation starts. Services are generally located in road berms or under footpaths and can be susceptible to damage, particularly from the weight of vehicles driving or parking over the ground. Parking on berms or verges is prohibited. The weight of vehicles can crush pipes and underground services, and obstructs people walking, biking or driving. If you’re planning to do any work on your driveway past your boundary, on the footpath or berm/verge you must have a permit before you can carry out the work. Before you dig – corridor access request A Corridor Access Request (CAR) is a permit from your local council to make sure work sites in the road reserve are as safe as possible for workers, motorists, pedestrians and cyclists. (The road reserve is defined as boundary to boundary). Make a Corridor Access Request (CAR) online by going to the beforeudig.co.nz. You might need to register first. Make sure you have a sketch of the location handy.
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Moving power lines: A behind-the-scenes look at the SH30 Eastern Corridor projectA critical part of the work to install traffic lights at the intersection of SH30 Te Ngae Road and Wharenui Road has been managing changes to power lines, poles and supply to make room for widening Wharenui Road and to ensure power gets to the right places. In mid-March we removed power lines that crossed SH30 Te Ngae Road and on Wharenui Road we removed one power pole and installed another in a different place. Small sections have been laid underground including the power supply for the traffic signals themselves. This meant a lot of planning for a coordinated power outage (planned power cut), notice to customers and residents, stopping traffic from both directions on SH30 and working with providers, council and contractors. We were lucky on the day with good weather and no major traffic delays. Thanks to the local community for your patience and for following the traffic management directions while this work is underway. Going, going, gone. |
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Some speed changes, some stay the sameEarlier this year, the Minister of Transport confirmed that 38 sections of state highway were subject to speed limit auto-reversal under the Setting of Speed Limits Rule 2024, with a further 49 sections open to community consultation to confirm whether there was public support to retain current lower speed limits. The Rotorua and Whakatāne state highways we consulted on during this time were:
There were 6 weeks of public consultation on 49 sections of state highway between 30 January and 13 March. Over 21,500 people had their say, and based on their feedback, 43 locations will return to their previous higher speed limits, with 6 remaining at their current lower speed limits. Of the 6 locations that demonstrated majority public support, as required by the Setting of Speed Limits Rule 2024 , to keep their current lower speed limits, 3 were in or near Rotorua:
Local road users and communities in these locations made their support for the current lower speed limits clear through consultation feedback. More than 50 per cent of respondents asked for the current lower speed limits to be retained for each of these locations. NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA) can now confirm that these lower speed limits will remain in place. Public support levels for the other 43 sections of state highway did not reach a similar level of support, with less than 50 per cent of respondents wishing to retain lower speed limits. NZTA will now add these 43 locations to its wider list of speed limit reversals and has begun notifying local communities in each of the locations about upcoming signage changes. Implementation of the speed limit reversals will be rolled out in monthly tranches, with all reversals to be in effect by 1 July 2025, as required by the Setting of Speed Limits Rule 2024. New speed limits will be enforceable once the signs are in place. NZTA acknowledges there are a wide range of opinions on speed limits, and thanks everyone who took the time to share their views. A summary of feedback received through the consultation process is available here: Consultation summary report - Speed reversals [PDF, 1.9 MB] This feedback will be valuable in shaping future speed reviews. This includes concerns voiced by local schools and marae. NZTA will now work with those schools, iwi, hapū, and marae to see what other safety interventions, such as Variable Speed Limits (VSLs), can be applied under the Rule to help them keep vulnerable users safe. VSLs are required by the Rule to be implemented outside all schools by 1 July 2026. Work is continuing separately on consultation on 16 of the 38 sections of state highways subject to auto-reversal requirements under the Rule, but where local communities have given strong feedback that they want to keep lower speeds (see below). Further information on the changes can be found on our website.
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New consultation on Rotorua urban connector highwaysWe’ve opened new speed reviews in Rotorua investigating whether there’s a case to keep the speed limits to 50km/h in 3 locations on state highways classified as urban connectors. The consultation is now live on our website and runs until 5pm on 14 May 2025. The speed limits were lowered to 50km/h in 2022. A new requirement under the Setting of Speed Limits Rule 2024 means this section should now change back to the higher speed limit (80km/h, 70km/h, and 60km/h). We’re now doing a speed review that’ll consider safety, technical, cost benefit and other data, alongside community feedback to determine if we should re-set the speed limit to the lower speed of 50km/h. Rotorua urban connector highway speed review locations |
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SH36 Te Pu rebuild affected by weatherThe last section of the road rebuild at Te Pu on State Highway 36 (SH36) between Tauranga and Ngongatahā was completed just before Easter, with a new first coat of chipseal in place for the long weekend. This work began in January and saw entire sections of the road rebuilt from the base up, meaning in the future it will need less ongoing maintenance and repairs, and will provide the best long-term result. Unfortunately heavy rain over the Easter weekend combined with people driving at higher speeds than advised resulted in water penetrating the new surface and creating significant pothole damage. Crews have undertaken temporary repairs and will soon be asphalting the surface to protect the affected area over winter before the second coat seal can be applied next summer. The seal on a road is like paint on your house – it keeps water out of the structure underneath. Like paint, the seal needs to dry before it gets wet or it can let water in. New seal can also be affected by vehicle speeds and weight, which is why a temporary speed limit is kept in place for some time after a seal is complete. All renewals receive a ‘second-coat’ seal the construction season after they are re-built. This is due to the initial renewal only including a single coat of chip seal, which is then allowed to settle for approximately 12 months. The second coat is then added to provide a thick, durable layer of chip seal, waterproofing the surface underneath. This process prevents ‘flushing’, which is where the bitumen rises to the surface of the road, making it shiny and slippery. A road rebuild means the road needs to be excavated deep into the road surface, unlike a typical resurfacing job. This way of rebuilding the road from the base up will involve replacing all or most of the structural road layers, which makes the work intensive, but it will improve the overall network conditions through more intensive treatments, which will increase pavement quality. We would like to thank people for their patience while this work was completed. This work forms part of the government’s $2.07 billion investment into road and drainage renewal and maintenance across 2024-27 via the State Highway Pothole Prevention fund. |
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SH5 Harwoods RoadA busy intersection on State Highway 5 (SH5) will be made safer with a roundabout being built at the State Highway 28 (SH28)/Harwoods Road intersection. Work starts mid-August and is expected to be completed March next year. NZTA has been investigating options to make this stretch of state highway safer and funding has become available to get the roundabout built. It's one of several safety improvements planned for the stretch of SH5 between Tīrau and Tārukenga Marae Road. A right-turn bay has been built this autumn at Waimakariri Road, while funding has been allocated to complete design for a roundabout at SH28/Whites Road and general widening between Whites and Harwoods roads to allow for wide centrelines. These improvements will complement work already completed between Tārukenga and Ngongotahā on SH5. |
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Supporting Road Safety Week 2025Road Safety Week 2025 is coming up on 12 – 18 May and we encourage you to join us in getting involved. Coordinated annually by road safety charity Brake and sponsored by NZTA, Beca, Road Safety Week aims to raise awareness and promote steps everyone can take to improve road safety in New Zealand. The theme is ‘Be a road safety hero’. This recognises everyone helping make our roads safer - from people designing and building safer roads to our primary school students on road patrols - and highlights the part we can all play, including by being safe road users. It’s easy for people, schools, businesses and community organisations to get involved. Register today for a free action pack with guidance and resources to help you. |
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More information |
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For more information on Connect Rotorua, contact us at ConnectRotorua@nzta.govt.nz Visit our website nzta.govt.nz/connect-rotorua |
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