Construction update

The State Highway (SH33) Te Ngae Junction to Paengaroa safety improvement project is more than halfway through its construction programme. The programme is split in three stages. Refer to the project map to understand where the various project sites are.

Progress update:

• Work between the Paengaroa straights and Allport Road (Stage 2B), and on the existing passing lane south of Allport Road (Stage 2A), will be substantially completed this month.
• Work on Stage 3B, south of Stage 2A/existing passing lane, is planned to start before the end of the year. The work on this 4km stretch includes establishing a new passing lane for vehicles travelling southbound on SH33, heading up the long hill towards Rotorua.
• Work on Stage 2C, north of Okere Falls, is scheduled to start early 2020.
• Okere Falls - updated line markings and other safety improvements in the area are on hold, pending the outcome of the speed review.

All of the stages of the SH33 safety improvements project are expected to be completed by mid-2021

Speed, walking and cycling

As part of the community engagement for this project, members of the Okere Falls and Mourea communities raised concerns about pedestrian and cyclist safety and speed. While these issues were being investigated, planned updated line markings and other safety improvements in the area were paused.

In September 2019, formal consultation for proposed speed limit changes in Paengaroa and along SH33 / SH30 from Okere Falls to Rotorua Airport was undertaken. The submissions for this consultation are being analysed.

Changing speed limits is a legal process and there are numerous steps that we need to carefully follow once we have completed our analysis. We hope to be able to make an announcement on the outcome of this speed review in early 2020.

We thank everyone who provided a submission. For more information about this programme of work, visit Safe Network Programme’s speed management or SH33/SH30 speed review.

The Transport Agency is investigating the feasibility and options for a shared path between Mourea and Okere Falls, which could be connected with a Heartland cycle route between Paengaroa and Lake Rotorua.

With the speed review and shared path proposals progressing, the project team will also revisit the initial design for the Okere Falls area and adapt this to best suit the environment.

Christmas shutdown

Work will shut down midday Friday 20 December 2019 and resume from Monday 6 January 2020. All cones and temporary signage will be removed from the sites. There will be evidence that road works are still in progress, but traffic flow and driving conditions should be as expected for the time of year.

Plan your trip
Plan your trip with travel time information, traffic cameras, and updates on delays, roadworks and road closures. Check out journeys.govt.nz

More information

For more information on the SH33 Te Ngae Junction to Paengaroa project, or if you have any questions, please get in touch with Justin Rae, our Community Engagement Manager, on 021 390 732 or email justin.rae@nzta.govt.nz

Visit our website www.nzta.govt.nz/tnj2p