Connect Rotorua

13 September 2024

SH30 Te Ngae Road surfacing night works

Now that spring has arrived and the weather is warmer, final sealing work is planned for a section of State Highway 30 (SH30) Te Ngae Road in Ōwhata as part of the SH30 Eastern Corridor Stage 2 project.

To enable this work, the road will be closed between Iles Road and Ōwhata roundabout in both directions for 5 nights, between 8pm and 5am, from Sunday 15 September.

Traffic management will be in place from 7pm with work occurring between Basley Road and Ōwhata Road.

All traffic, including heavy haulage, will be detoured via Vaughan Road and Ōwhata Road. Southbound road users will rejoin SH30 at the SH30/Marino Street intersection. 

Local residents and businesses will be able to access their properties via detours and access will remain for emergency services.

A second section of asphalt work will be completed in the near future between Iles Road and Basley Road.

Nightworks are undertaken to minimise disruption to local residents, businesses and people travelling through the area.

Road users can check the latest state highway road conditions, including where worksites and incidents are, on the NZTA Journey Planner.  

NZTA thanks road users and the community for their patience.

Corridor improvements setting city up for growth

With Eastside Rotorua changing rapidly and plans to build thousands more houses over the next 10-30 years, the SH30 Eastern Corridor improvements are putting the city in a good position to cope with the associated increases in people using this stretch of state highway.

The improvements address safety and connectivity and accommodate future growth, providing people with options to travel safely. People’s journeys have been improved with more predictable travel times and better efficiency at key intersections, particularly during peak hours.

Construction on SH30 Eastern Corridor Stage 1 was completed in February 2022 and saw major improvements from Sala Street to Iles Road.

We are currently working on Phase 1 of Stage 2 of the Eastern Corridor improvements between Iles Road and Wharenui Road.

Construction began in 2022 and is being completed in 3 zones. See below for what we’ve done.

Zones 1 and 2 are nearly complete, with final sealing, some remedial work and new bus shelters still to come. An upgraded culvert north of Iles Road will improve resilience when there’s heavy rain.

Zone 3 work will focus on the SH30/Wharenui Road intersection with the final scope of work expected to be confirmed in the coming months.

This phase of the project received $35 million from the Government’s Crown Infrastructure Partners (CIP) funding for construction to support growth and development in eastern Rotorua.

Future phases between Basley Road and Rotorua Airport will be delivered in response to growth along the state highway and are currently unfunded.

More information

SH30 work completed so far

Our team has been working eastwards from Iles Road, extending the work already completed between Sala Street and Iles Road, so the busiest sections of the corridor with the most immediate needs were addressed first. 

People are now enjoying smoother and more predictable journey times through intersection improvements and double lanes from Isles to Basley Road.

Pedestrians and cyclists are enjoying the wider shared paths and on-road cycle lanes, and safer road crossings linking key destinations such as Puketawhero Park, local schools and shops.

People commuting into the CBD now have more options with upgraded cycle lanes and bus stops, and those in cars have more lanes and more consistent travel times with upgraded intersections.

We’ve coordinated work to deliver transport and service infrastructure that supports growth and minimised impacts on road users, residents and businesses.

By doing all this work together, future development and growth infrastructure work will be both possible and easier. There won’t be the same need for significant trenching and road works – with their associated delays and detours – at a time when more people will be living and travelling through the area.

Work completed to date includes:

• Signalised intersection at Basley Road
• 4-laning of SH30 between Iles Road and Basley Road, and widened SH30 between Brent Road and Ōwhata Road in preparation for future 4-laning
• Undergrounding powerlines and replacing watermains from Iles Road to Ōwhata Road
• Raised safety platforms at Tennyson Drive, Tumene Drive and Brent Road
• Removal of left turn slip lanes onto local roads to improve safety for pedestrians and cyclists
• New 3-metre-wide shared path from Basley Road to Ōwhata Road
• New on-road cycling lanes from Iles Road to Ōwhata Road
• New pedestrian crossings and refuges, bus stops and safety improvements (bus shelters to be installed)
• Moved a signalised pedestrian crossing from near Tennyson Drive to Puketāwhero Park.

The final zone works between Ōwhata Road and Coulter Road will be confirmed in the coming months.

SH33 Te Ngae Junction to Paengaroa made safer

People travelling on State Highway 33 (SH33) are now experiencing the safety benefits following the completion of the SH33 Te Ngae Junction to Paengaroa safety improvements project.

This important work began in 2017 with the aim of reducing deaths and serious injuries on a high-risk rural highway.

To make this 34km stretch of SH33 safer we put in 24.7km of wide centreline, installed 22.9km of flexible roadside safety barriers at high-risk locations and widened and sealed 38.5km of road shoulder (on both sides of the road).

These upgrades will mean the road will be more forgiving if someone makes a mistake.

Up to 75% of the people who die or are seriously injured on rural roads have either had a head-on collision or have run off the road.

Other safety improvements include new signs, line marking, rumble strips, and a new 1.4km southbound passing lane.

After hearing concerns from locals about it being unsafe to cross the road at Ōkere Falls, we installed a shared path and pedestrian refuge islands between Ōkere Falls and Hamurana Road to improve safety.

We acknowledge the patience of residents and road users while these improvements were carried out along this stretch of road.

More information.

Road maintenance season shifts focus to summer maintenance

With warmer weather approaching, all roads are leading towards a big summer of road renewal across the Bay of Plenty and Waikato region.

NZTA is investing $647 into state highway road renewals and maintenance across the Bay of Plenty region over the next 3 years.

Undertaking this volume of work requires a variety of approaches, explains Andy Oakley, Waikato System Manager at NZTA.

“On lower volume roads we tend to use standard stop/go traffic management given the delays will be minimal, however in urban areas and on key routes we will look at options such as closing roads.

“Road closures create efficiencies for the team on site, reducing traffic management requirements and making it a safer environment for workers. We can often undertake routine maintenance work alongside the rebuilds, which helps us stretch our funding further.

“We know road users get frustrated when they’re held up in queues, especially on hot summer days. The best thing people can do is check the NZTA Journey Planner before they leave for their destination.

“Our Journey Planner will provide an overview of any roadworks or other activities affecting the state highway network – which you can plan to avoid or plan into your travel time.

“We’ve got a big maintenance season ahead of us and there will be disruption across the network due to roadworks. While this may lead to increased travel times it will result in a better roading network for everyone to enjoy.”

We encourage people to inform us of individual potholes, isolated flooding or slips. You can call 0800 4 HIGHWAYS (0800 44 44 49) so a contractor can respond as quickly as possible.

For up-to-date travel information please check the Journey Planner

More information

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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