SH25/SH25A Thames-Coromandel

5 December 2025

An artist's impression of the new 2-lane bridge shows a shared path on one side and a footpath on the other.

Contractor in place for Tairua bridge replacement

Another milestone has been reached in Tairua’s Pepe Stream Bridge replacement project, with a contract signed for the design, consenting and construction of the new bridge on State Highway 25.

Fulton Hogan will build the new 2-lane bridge, working with engineering consultancy WSP to support the design and preparation of resource consent applications.

"Getting a construction contract in place is a major milestone in the project and now the countdown is on for final design and consenting so we can start building late next year,” says NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi Regional Manager Infrastructure Delivery Darryl Coalter

“This community has been very patient while we work through the procurement process since funding was announced last year. It’s great to see things are on track, a contractor is in place with some innovative construction plans, and we are less than 12 months out from starting.”

The new bridge will replace the single-lane structure, built in 1943, and also the current wooden pedestrian bridge. A 3-metre wide shared path will be on the seaward (eastern) side of the new bridge, and a 1.5-metre footpath on the western side. A pedestrian crossing with a safety refuge is planned near the Pepe Road intersection. The project has a $22 million budget.

The Fulton Hogan-WSP partnership will now press on with finalising design and consents ahead of construction expected to start in spring 2026, with traffic on the new bridge by December 2027.

Funding was confirmed last year for the project – as part of a national priority bridge replacement programme – which includes 2 other SH25 Coromandel bridges. It aims to improve safety, efficiency and resilience on the state highway around the peninsula. 

Boundary Creek Stream Bridge on the Thames Coast road had a new deck installed recently and is back to 2 lanes, while the single-lane Ramarama Stream Bridge north of Whiritoa will be replaced by a 2-lane bridge when land negotiations are completed.

Mr Coalter says a community information session is planned for late February to provide more details on the Pepe bridge design, traffic management and other construction details.

SH25 through Tairua will remain open while the new bridge is built and the old one demolished, with occasional brief closures at night.

One of the first tasks will be to install a temporary shared path on the upstream (western) side of the existing bridge, then remove the current shared footbridge.

Meanwhile traffic management staff will again be in place over the summer holidays to assist traffic over the old bridge.

The current footbridge and single-lane road bridge will be replaced by a single structure.

Big push in maintenance work

Our Coromandel maintenance contractor Higgins will have all renewal work across the peninsula wrapped up by Christmas.

While a big focus recently was completing a rebuild on a steep section on State Highway 25A, road workers are also well advanced on a summer renewals programme – mainly chipseal resurfacing, and some areas of asphalting.

This week they have been in operating between Kūaotunu and Whitianga then between Tairua and Whangamatā, with day works under stop/go.

Newly laid chipseal does require aftercare treatment so please follow the speed restrictions while the chip beds in.

Higgins also have night-time asphalt works nearly completed across several sites.  These have involved traffic being held (stop/stop) for 20-25 minutes between 8pm and 5am, along with temporary speed limits during the day. 

Remaining asphalt works:

7 and 9 December: SH25 Thames Coast Road, Kereta 

10 December: SH25 near Whangapoua

There is a shutdown period on road works over the holiday season, and this starts from Friday 19 December and runs through to Monday 5 January.

The bridge deck has been removed to reveal further work is needed on the beams.

New beams needed for Whangamatā bridge

Deck repairs to the Moana Anu Anu Bridge on SH25 on the outskirts of Whangamatā have been extended to include replacing some corroded beams.

The road has been closed to all traffic since 29 October and is now scheduled to be open by 19 December.

The deck on the bridge (also known as the Wentworth Bridge) needs to be replaced, and other strengthening work is being carried out during the closure.

The need for more extensive work, including replacing 3 corroded beams, came to light once work was well underway. The replacement beams are currently being fabricated.

The detour through Whangamatā uses Mayfair Avenue and Martyn Road and adds only a few minutes to normal journey times.

Weekly updates are available by signing up to the NZTA weekly regional maintenance newsletter.

Two-way traffic resumes on Kūaotunu Hill

Two-way traffic is now moving through the major slip site on SH25 on the Kūaotunu Hill, north of Wharekaho, clearing a long standing bottle-neck for road users using this link to northern communities on Coromandel’s east coast.

The road was reduced to a single lane by a large underslip during the 2023 summer storms.

Our hardworking team has been working for the past 6 months rebuilding this section of state highway. While there is still some minor finishing work to be done, they have met their goal of having traffic flowing freely through the site ahead of the busy summer period.

This section of road runs along a ridge line and the soft unfavourable ground conditions have meant this has been one of the most complex repair jobs in the overall Coromandel recovery programme.

Considerable engineering ingenuity was needed to deliver a resilient repair while minimising further disruption to road users and keeping the route operational throughout.

A 55m long retaining wall built across the slip face has been secured by 36 metal anchors. These run beneath the road surface to underground metal piles installed on the other side of the road, supporting and strengthening this section of road on Kūaotunu Hill.

The numbers:
• 996 cubic metres of slip material removed.
• 59 steel piles installed - 569.5m total length and weighing 90 tonnes.
• 378m of underground anchors running beneath the road.
• 200 cubic metres of concrete.
• 578 cubic metres of aggregate brought in to rebuild the road.
• 41 people worked 17,500 hours to complete this job.

The photos below show progress over the past 6 months, from left: Back-filling the retaining wall, underground anchors being installed and the highway back to 3 lanes.

More information

For more information on the SH25/SH25A Thames-Coromandel project, contact us at coromandel@nzta.govt.nz

Visit our website nzta.govt.nz/thames-coromandel