SH2 Wainui Road to Ōpōtiki

Project update

18 August 2025

Construction for the new roundabout at Matekerepu

Matekerepu Update

Welcome to our August newsletter where you’ll find the latest information about work happening on State Highway 2 (SH2) as part of the safety improvement project between Wainui Road and Ōpōtiki.

Before we get into the update, we’d like to acknowledge the Wainui, Matekerepu, Waiōtahe and Waimana communities who were impacted by the flooding event on Wednesday 30 July. We recognise this must have been an incredibly distressing and challenging time, and our thoughts are with everyone affected.

Traffic management through the new road layout at Matekerepu

What’s been happening at Matekerepu

Work continues in the construction of a roundabout at the intersection of SH2 and Wainui Road at Matekerepu.

Despite the recent bad weather, work on the new roundabout has continued including a change to the traffic layout and shifting some traffic onto the newly widened shoulder on Wainui Road. This shift is enabling the roundabout to be constructed on the road.

Please continue to stick to the temporary speed limit while driving through the area. Our traffic management team will be onsite to help guide you through the updated road layout, just follow their directions and they'll get you through safely and smoothly. Thanks for your cooperation! You can read more about the traffic switch here.

You can expect to see a few things happening onsite over the next few weeks. These include updating line marking, laying out the initial kerbing along the southern end of the worksite and installing a 900mm culvert along the southern lane of SH2 on the bridge side of the intersection. Most of this work will be carried out from the land next to the intersection to minimise disruption. We will keep you updated if more traffic management is needed.

A birds eye view of the ongoing work at Matekerepu

Planning and progress at Ōhiwa Beach Road and Waiotahe Back Road intersections

As you may know, upgrades to improve safety are planned for the 2 intersections on either side of the Waiōtahe River Bridge on SH2 – Ōhiwa Beach Road and Waiōtahe Valley Back Road. This is another part of the SH2 Wainui Road to Ōpōtiki safety improvements project and is known as section 2. Funding has been approved for this section and we’re currently completing the detailed design, necessary resource consent applications and land purchase.

Construction gets back on track after July flood

In late July there was a significant downpour of rain which flooded the wider eastern Bay of Plenty area, cutting off access between Whakatāne and Ōpōtiki.

The flooding impacted many, including our worksite, closing our operations for a few days. Given the site’s location within a designated flood plain, we expected some flooding, but not the amount that came.

Due to the slow-moving nature of the water, the site held up well, with some scouring and erosion along parts of Wainui Road where the shoulder has been widened, and along the northern side of SH2, about 40 metres east of Matekerepu Bridge.

These impacts have delayed the project about a week. The crews on the ground worked hard to get the site back in operation as quickly as possible and works are back on track.

We understand flooding is a concern for people living in and around the area, and we want to reassure people while this project is focused on safety, the roundabout has been designed so it won't make flooding in the area any worse.

While this project is funded to improve safety, and doesn’t address corridor resilience, the 2024–27 National Land Transport Programme (NLTP) has funding allocated to investigate and plan resilience improvements along SH2 between Awakeri and Ōpōtiki, however is subject to funding approval.

Before and after

Since April, a lot of work has gone into the construction of the roundabout, and it’s often hard to see how far we have come from the beginning of the project. As you can see below, in just a few months, the crews have worked hard to clear vegetation, set up site offices, cart materials in and out of site and widen the shoulder. You can see the roundabout really taking shape and where Wainui Road and SH2 connect.

We’re well on our way to making this intersection safer and we’re excited to keep sharing progress as the project continues.

Thank you

We do our best to minimise impacts to people as they drive through our work site and want to thank the local community for their patience. We’re pleased to be delivering important safety improvements at the SH2 and Wainui Road intersection and looking forward to starting work on the final section in 2026.

More information

For more information on the SH2 Wainui Road to Ōpōtiki project, visit our website nzta.govt.nz/sh2-wainui-road-to-opotiki

If you have any questions, please contact us at bopprojects@nzta.govt.nz