Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency

Takitimu North Link

Contractor’s newsletter - Te karere a te kaikirimana

28 February 2025


 

Kia ora koutou

Kua eke te tūwhāinga nui o te Ara o Takitimu ki te Raki otirā kua tīmata mātou ki te keri i raro i te Arawhiti o te Ara o Cambridge i te 14 o Pēpuere 2025.

Kua hukea e mātou te whenua i raro i te Ara o Minden, te Ara o Wairoa, ā, me ngā arawhiti o te Ara o Cambridge - nā reira he take pai hei whakanuitanga, i te mea kua hipa i te hauruatanga o te mahi hanga i tēnei ara hou, e tūhono ana i a Tauranga me Te Puna.

I tēnei putanga o te mātārere, he kōrero hou kei roto mō ngā wāhi mahi matua e 3 hei aronga i tēnei kaupeka hanganga i raro.

We’ve reached a major milestone on Takitimu North Link with our crew digging beneath Cambridge Road Overbridge, on 14 February 2025.

The team has now excavated the ground beneath Minden Road, Wairoa Road, and Cambridge Road overbridges – a great reason to celebrate as it means we've now passed the halfway point building this new road connecting Tauranga and Te Puna.

In this edition of the newsletter, we provide updates on the 3 key work areas of site this construction season below.

Watch the Cambridge Road bridge breakthrough video here

These videos, captured by Surveyor George Clemens and Environmental Manager Steph Kirk, show the exciting moment smashing under Cambridge Road. This was a fist-bumping kind of day for the site crew, and a long time coming! To mark the moment, machine operators parked up their machines and gathered on the bridge to celebrate as the 2 excavators daylighted underneath.

Cambridge Road was the last bridge we had to clear underneath, and it means the entire length of the project is now fully connected for the first time. It also means dump trucks can run the length of the project (and fewer trucks using the existing SH2).

The earthworks here are part of a massive effort across the project – in total we've shifted 1.5 million cubic metres of earth. So much dirt, so much mahi. So many smiles!

Kua eke te tūwhāinga nui o te Ara o Takitimu ki te Raki otirā kua tīmata mātou ki te keri i raro i te Arawhiti o te Ara o Cambridge i te 14 o Pēpuere 2025.

Takitimu North Link is a Road of National Significance, a new 4-lane expressway that'll be a reliable, resilient, and safe connection between Tauranga and Te Puna.

Kia haumaru te haere
Safe travels.

 

 

Piling to begin at SH2/Fifteenth Ave bridge site

Watch the video here

Take a look at this birds eye view over our work site at SH2/Fifteenth Ave. This work is to build a new bridge connection towards Te Puna, Tauriko and Lower Kaimai - if you drive past you would have seen the great work (and the tricky tight workspace) the team have been doing here.

Earthworks are completed and awesome progress being made on a large retaining wall. About 200 out of 494 anchors have been drilled into the bank so far, and 187m² out of 643m² has had shotcrete (sprayed concrete) applied.

We’re about to begin work on the single lane bridge connection, with crane pads being built, and piling starting March 2025. This will provide access to State Highway 29/Takitimu Drive Toll Road and a better connected journey.

The lane closure on SH2 will remain in place through to mid-2026 while this work is completed.

 

 

SH29/Takitimu Drive flyover bridge

We’re making great progress building a major interchange at SH29/Takitimu Drive Toll Road. This flyover bridge between Tauriko and the Tauranga city centre is one of 10 major structures on the project.

The bridge will be 363 metres long, and it'll cross over one of Australasia’s largest urban wetlands – the Kopurererua Valley Reserve.

The crew installed 24 beams this summer, with 9 remaining to be placed in the next 2 months. Other ongoing work we're doing here includes building a slip lane that'll keep traffic flowing from the city centre towards Tauriko, and a roundabout that'll be the entry point onto the new highway. 

There is a reduced speed limit of 70km/h in place while crews are working behind the barriers.

We anticipate diverting traffic onto the flyover bridge and southbound slip lane in late 2025 while we continue working.

Our website has more information on this part of the project

 

 

The western end of the project is another of our busiest areas of site, currently under construction.

Te Rangi tua nehe / Minden Gully diamond interchange

A massive milestone achieved with the team excavating underneath the Minden Road Overbridge this month, and on the home stretch with the 'dogbone' layout and construction of 2 roundabouts to form the diamond interchange. Fantastic effort from all of the teams involved, structures, pavements, drainage and earthworks it has been a long journey to get to this point.

We'd like to thank our neighbours in this area for your support as we undertake this important work - keep an eye out for traffic management changes as works continue. 

 

 

Takitimu North Link Stage 2 update

Early 2024, Takitimu North Link Stage 2 between Te Puna and Ōmokoroa was identified as a Road of National Significance (RoNS). Following this we have been working to determine the best consenting pathway for the project, as well as alignment with GPS 2024.

In October 2024 the NZTA Board endorsed the project’s scope, enabling the project to proceed to lodge the notice of requirement and resource consent applications in the first half of 2025, giving partners, landowners, and the community certainty of the route.

In addition to this, we have now recommenced engagement with directly affected landowners and are progressing to acquire 73 properties impacted by the project.

Ongoing engagement with local hapū is progressing, with input into historical and environmental aspects of the project, as well consideration of cultural aspects in the project design.

NZTA is working towards being construction ready by end of 2027.

 

 

Pic of the month!

This gorgeous whānau of little kōtare (sacred kingfisher) were huddled in a nest in a tree adjacent to the project. Photograph captured by Pipi, one of the students working in the environmental team over summer. 

 

 

Feedback welcomed

What would you like to see more of in this project newsletter? Let us know at info@takitimunorthlink.co.nz.

 

 

More information

 
 

Read more and sign up for updates about the project at:
nzta.govt.nz/takitimunorth

Takitimu North Link Stage 1 Project Team
Te Tira Mahi o Te Ara o Takitimu Wāhanga Tuatahi

Phone - waea ki 0800 865 776
Email - īmēra info@takitimunorthlink.co.nz
Website - paetukutuku nzta.govt.nz/takitimunorth