Tauriko Enabling Works

Project update

18 December 2025

Tēnā koe and welcome to the State Highway 29 (SH29) Tauriko Enabling Works project update.

In this edition we’re celebrating a new connection in Tauriko and looking back at the year that was. 

You can also read about:
- Major intersection upgrade works on Cambridge Road
- What’s a constructed wetland
- Meet the team
- Progress at Ōmanawa Bridge

And more!

NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA) and Tauranga City Council (TCC) are progressing this programme of work to improve safety and enable development in and around Tauriko.

Kaweroa Drive now connects to the SH29/Redwood Lane roundabout.

New Tauriko connection

We’ve opened a new connection in Tauriko, with the completion of the fourth and final leg of the SH29 Redwood Lane roundabout.

The roundabout, part of the SH29 Tauriko Enabling Works project, opened to traffic in May this year while work continued on the Kaweroa Drive connection. That work is complete, and the connection officially opened to traffic on Saturday 15 November.

Check out this video of Tauranga City Mayor Mahé Drysdale and Tauriko Ward Councillor Marten Rozeboom on site when it opened.

The new Kaweroa Drive link makes it easier for industrial and commercial traffic to reach businesses within the Tauriko Business Estate (TBE), while helping to spread traffic more evenly between SH29 and State Highway 36 (SH36). It also includes new pedestrian signals to improve safety for people walking and cycling in the area.

Through a newly opened extension of Taihoa Rise, Kaweroa Drive now also connects to Belk Road, providing a safer access to SH29 for most Belk Road residents. Work has started on constructing a new roundabout to connect the southern end of Taurikura Drive and Belk Road, which will ultimately allow the closure of the existing Belk Road/SH29 intersection. This work is led by TBE developer Element IMF and overseen by Tauranga City Council, and is expected to be completed in late 2026. More information.

The remaining lanes of the SH29/Redwood Lane roundabout will be opened on Friday 19 December, making it 2-laned in each direction. A reduced speed limit of 70km/h will be in place between Belk Road and Gargan Road and people are encouraged to drive carefully through the site while adjusting to the new layout.

All work in the Redwood Lane section, including opening the pedestrian and cyclist underpass (pictured below), final line marking, and landscaping is on track to be completed by early 2026.

Pedestrian and cyclist underpass beneath SH29 connecting Redwood Lane and Kaweroa Drive.

Pavement construction underway on SH29, Tauriko Village.

Progress in Tauriko Village

If you’ve driven through Tauriko Village recently you’ll have seen the team working hard on road surface construction on the northern side of SH29 (more on this below). A shared path and 2 new traffic lanes are being created before the team moves to road surface construction on the southern side of SH29 in early 2026.

We're also busy landscaping and planting on Te Ara Hoia Drive and in the nearby wetland area, and have completed a new bike track for the Tauriko School students. The track includes miniature roads with stop signs, give ways, pedestrian crossings and bus stops designed to improve rider confidence.

Further east, sheet pile removal is progressing behind the safety barriers near the SH29/Cambridge Road intersection and will continue through December. In early January, removal will shift to the narrower section of Cambridge Road, requiring a temporary lane closure (more on this below).

Progress continues on installing new watermain pipes along the project corridor, from just east of the Redwood Lane roundabout to Tauriko Village. We’re about halfway through installing the new pipes, with 2.5km already laid.

Meanwhile, the final section of open trenching for the wastewater upgrade on Whiore Avenue will be completed before Christmas. In the new year, the team will move to the bottom of Whiore Avenue to complete pipe installation, before working back up using directional drilling. Following this, street upgrades will begin, including a new footpath and provisions for a future bus stop.

What's the wait?

Work on the newly constructed Tauranga-bound lanes in Tauriko Village is progressing well, with the first layers of asphalt going down this month.

Once the asphalt is down and the lines are painted, you may find yourself wondering why it’s yet to open.

Roading projects require a great deal of sequencing, and the barriers will remain in place until all tasks are ticked off. That includes laying underground services, backfilling, constructing the new shared user path, berms and gardens.

Once the northern side is fully complete (expected to be in late March/April 2026), traffic will be switched onto the new lanes, clearing the way for teams to tackle the southern side – keeping all works contained to one side at a time.

This staged approach reduces disruption, keeps traffic flowing, and ensures the road opens safely and sustainably.

The project’s largest retaining wall located on Cambridge Road.

New Year lane closure on Cambridge Road

January will mark a significant project milestone as crews undertake an intensive programme of works to progress the SH29/Cambridge Road intersection upgrade.

While many locals enjoy their summer holidays, the team will take advantage of reduced traffic volumes and the absence of school buses to deliver what’s being dubbed ‘Super January’ - a concentrated effort to complete as much work as possible during this period.

The ambitious approach will include removing temporary sheet piles, earthworks, relocating underground services, road construction and resurfacing.

To do this safely, we’ll need to close a short section of the Cambridge Road northbound lane, between the SH29 intersection and 579 Cambridge Road, from Saturday 3 January until early February. All Bethlehem-bound vehicles will need to detour via SH29 Takitimu Drive Toll Road (toll applies) or the free alternative SH29A and Cameron Road. The southbound lane will remain open.

View the detour map.

We appreciate this will cause some disruption, so we’re committed to working extended hours to minimise the overall impact. This short-term inconvenience will mean less disruptions in the future. Work will take place 7 days a week, with some extended shifts (7am to 12am) and night works (6pm to 5am).

The full upgrade will deliver a safer, more efficient intersection for all road users, with completion expected in 2027.

2025 - the year that was

This year has delivered some memorable project milestones. Here are some of our highlights.

April:

The new intersection (SH29/Te Ara Hoia Drive) in Tauriko Village opened in a temporary layout, along with the new Tauriko School and Playcentre carpark. Traffic lights will be installed in 2027.

May:

The Redwood Lane roundabout opened to traffic for the first time, in a temporary layout. The roundabout will be in its final layout later this week.

September:

Concrete was poured for the new footpath on Cambridge Road.

October:

The 80m-long noise wall outside Tauriko School was completed.

November:

We opened the fourth and final leg of the SH29/Redwood Lane roundabout, the Kaweroa Drive connection.

Constructed wetland near Redwood Lane.

What are constructed wetlands?

As part of the Tauriko Enabling Works project, 3 constructed wetlands are being developed - 2 are operational, and the third will start early next year.

Constructed wetlands are engineered systems that treat stormwater by mimicking natural filtration. They use vegetation, soil, and microbes to remove pollutants such as sediment, nutrients, heavy metals, and pathogens.

How they work:
• Sedimentation: Slows water so particles settle.
• Filtration: Plant roots and soil trap contaminants.
• Biological uptake: Plants absorb nutrients.
• Microbial degradation: Microorganisms break down pollutants.

Our wetlands are Free Water Surface (FWS) type, where water flows over a vegetated surface like a natural wetland.

Benefits include improved water quality, flood mitigation, habitat creation and enhanced landscape and biodiversity.

The 3 project wetlands are located near Redwood Lane, beside Tauriko School and near the slip lane from SH29 onto the Takitimu Drive Toll Road.

Meet the team – Evan, summer engineering intern

What is your role and how did you get into this career?
I’m currently in my second year of university, working towards becoming a qualified engineer. Over the summer, I have the privilege of joining the Downer team on the Tauriko Enabling Works project as an intern. This means that I will spend 3 months shadowing the engineers on site, asking lots and lots of questions and getting stuck in! This experience allows me to apply what I’ve learned in the lecture theatre to a real construction environment with proper heavy machinery - something my 4-year-old self dreamed of in the sandpit.

What is an average day like for you?
Each day I join the 7am site meeting to talk through what is going to happen during the day. I then work alongside an engineer as they make sure the job gets done as smoothly as possible. A big part of an engineer’s role is completing the necessary documentation to have the right people, with the right tools, doing the right job. Throughout the day, we visit work crews to check in on progress.

What is the hardest aspect of your job?
As with any new job, especially in a new industry, getting up to speed can be a challenge. I joined the project in mid-November, coming from Auckland with minimal project knowledge. I’ve since spent time reviewing the plans and designs and putting together a solid picture of how the project benefits Tauriko and the wider area. The team has been fantastic in helping me grow my understanding.

What do you enjoy most about your job?
On a big project like the Tauriko Enabling Works, there are so many different parts that work together to get the job done - from the construction manager to the machinery operators and everyone in between. Talking to people on site gives me an opportunity to learn from those who have done these tasks thousands of times, some who have been doing their job longer than I have been alive! These sorts of onsite insights really influence how I approach my work.

What’s one thing you wish members of the public knew, which would help to keep the roads and workers like yourself safe?
Make sure to leave enough following distance between you and the vehicle in front for when something unexpected happens. Often, I see people driving too close, so much so that when one person slams on their brakes, those following them have to brake ever harder and so on for the following cars. The ripple effect can be a traffic jam that continues well after the initial person has slammed on their brakes. By travelling at the posted speed limit and maintaining a safe following distance we can all get where we are going safely this summer.

Holiday period

The Tauriko Enabling Works project team will be taking a break over the Christmas period. Our last day on site will be Friday 19 December, with a staggered return from Saturday 3 January in the Tauriko Village section. The full team will be back on site (including Redwood Lane) from Monday 12 January.

During the shutdown period there will be minimal temporary traffic management to keep traffic flowing smoothly with regular site checks.

We’d like to take this opportunity to thank our community and stakeholders for your patience and understanding this year. We wish everyone a safe and relaxing summer holiday.

SH29 Ōmanawa Bridge replacement site.

SH29 Ōmanawa Bridge replacement progress

Work is ramping up at Ōmanawa Bridge replacement construction site. As you can see from the picture above the site is now fully established with the access road built and the site offices in place. 

Stormwater retention ponds and perimeter fencing are in place to protect the surrounding land and rivers, and drainage installation and earthworks are underway across the site, including the first steps in building the new western approach to the bridge.

From early next year work will begin on the new bridge with installation of bridge piles.

More information.

Investigations underway at Tauriko West

We’ve begun a series of site investigations to support the SH29/SH29A Tauriko West Road of National Significance (RoNS) upgrades. These include geotechnical, ecological, landscape, noise, and archaeological assessments, as well as surveys of streams, vegetation, and wildlife.

This work is essential for planning, design, and upcoming consent applications, ensuring we understand ground conditions and environmental impacts.

Thank you for joining us

Over 170 residents, business owners, and community members attended the Tauriko West Community Information Day in November. It was a great opportunity to share updates on all Tauriko West projects, answer questions, and hear your feedback.

Missed the event?
You can find all the information shared online. Thank you for your interest and engagement as we work together to build a safer, more connected future for Tauriko West.

More information

For more information on the Tauriko Enabling Works project, contact us at bopprojects@nzta.govt.nz

Visit our website www.nzta.govt.nz/tauriko-enabling-works