Te Puna detour on trial

A local traffic detour is being trialled around the roundabout construction.

A road detour around the Te Puna roundabout construction zone begins today, to give construction teams better access to the site.

Removing southbound light vehicles from the site will give the construction team better access and allow them to seal the road more quickly, says the NZ Transport Agency today.

The detour trial begins today and could be in place for three to four weeks, but the Transport Agency will monitor the results and may remove or extend it if necessary.

While cars will use the diversion, heavy vehicles will still need to use the state highway route.

'Te Puna shops and the local area, including bus stops, can still be accessed while the detour is in place,” says the NZTA.

'The new two-lane new roundabout will replace the Te Puna/Minden Road intersection, significantly improving safety for motorists travelling on the route.”

The route for southbound traffic is; left into Snodgrass Road, right onto Borell Road, right into te Puna Road and left onto SH2.

Heavy trucks will continue to use SH2, where they will be stacked in lane behind traffic managment trucks.

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21 comments

Te Puna Detour

Posted on 19-04-2017 11:41 | By Petersfield

Have just tried to go to town from Omokoroa and turned around and came home and cancelled appointments. This traffic snarl is an absolute disgrace, from Whakamarama shops at a crawl through Snodgrass Road, etc. what did the powers that be expect? A slight delay!! but this is outrageous. Why is this not being done at night there is plenty of scope for this in this enlightened abut obviously Transit is not in the modern age. Merle Bray


MMm?

Posted on 19-04-2017 12:03 | By Merlin

Took 40 minutes to get to Bethlehem from Quarry Road Te Puna.Traffic was stop start nearly every 100 metres or so.It will eventually back up to the State Highway.It almost did at 10am this morning. Must be a better way.


Fiasco

Posted on 19-04-2017 13:09 | By Qalad

The whole project appears to be managed by imbeciles. The cost in time and fuel is horrendous. All of this for an intersection that will be bypassed, hopefully, in four years time. This project is a complete waste of taxpayers money.


Chaos

Posted on 19-04-2017 13:32 | By JEM

Chaos on the road at TePuna. Especially with Station and Clarke roads shut. But at least they finally have signs on the highway to stop people turning into station Road


Delays?

Posted on 19-04-2017 13:37 | By sh2 commuter

From experience to date we can expect even longer delays with this detour.It is surprising that the contractor can install temporary traffic management during the peak periods. This morning at 7.05am the queue was stationary before Plummers Point Road, and last night at 6.30pm cars were queuing next to Countdown.You can be sure under NZTA management things will get worse.


Absolutely pathetic

Posted on 19-04-2017 14:22 | By Loopy101

40 minutes to get into Bethlehem. What a screw up. This whole project is a joke. Every time you pass te puna people are just sitting around talking. The traffic management in Tauranga is an absolute joke.


Te Puna roundabout project

Posted on 19-04-2017 15:16 | By Rimu137

This project is 6 months in and an absolute joke. Idle plant, about 6 guys working at any time, and traffic jams like we never saw when it was a 'bad' intersection. NZTA is a joke, and the contractors are obviously taking the ****, letting this job run as long as possible, without giving a toss for the community or motorists on a vital piece of state highway.


Not a clue

Posted on 19-04-2017 15:48 | By comfortablynumb

Just returned from a week in Cairns where there are lots of roadworks on the south side of the city on the state highway. All managed really well with minor delays. Wake up NZTA and learn from the Aussies.


Te Puna traffic a bad joke

Posted on 19-04-2017 16:18 | By Rimu137

How is it that a simple roundabout takes what is now looking like a year to build, given this one started about October last year and looks nothing like a roundabout at this stage. NZTA has no idea the misery it has inflicted upon motorists and Te Puna community, and should take some responsibility for the damage this joke is having on local businesses out here - contractors must be having a laugh at how long they can draw this project out..why no night work?!


NZTA drongos of the year!

Posted on 19-04-2017 16:37 | By stokey

They couldn't organise a proverbial... in a brewery. Totally incompetent and only matched by the contractors. It took 1 hour 35 mins to get from Omokoroa turnoff to Bethlehem? Totally unacceptable and we need a motorists revolt to shake these pathetic morons up? We should ignore these diversions and weave our way through!


Backwards thinking

Posted on 19-04-2017 16:45 | By timor2011

Come on get an amendment to the resource consent to do works at night- all those summer evenings wasted and Christmas shut down times? What a joke ! Overseas roadworks seem to be done at night? Get with it NZTA,


Get used to it..........

Posted on 19-04-2017 17:17 | By The Hobbit

We better all get used to the delays because this is what it's going to be like once the roundabout is in. The merge like a zip system causes major bottle necks with kilometres of snarled up traffic. I predict one long queue from Waihi Road to Te Puna!!! The roundabout at the Z garage in Bethlehem causes delays so the one in Te Puna won't be any different. A better option would have been to continue the dual roundabout through to the dual section past Loop Road, although this would only solve the problem going in the direction from Tauranga to Omokoroa/Katikati. Waste of time, waste of money and a lot of frustration ahead of us all.


It'll all happen again........

Posted on 19-04-2017 17:20 | By The Hobbit

We'll all have to go through this again within 6 months of the work being completed. I have noticed that most roads have to be resurfaced shortly after construction or resurfacing work because for some reason, Kiwi's can't build roads right first time.


Cost to others.

Posted on 19-04-2017 17:53 | By C@Esd

2 guys in 2 vans = 4 4 man hours lost on a job meant to be completed today,so now impacts onto tomorrow.How many people missed appointments. This is a pathetic attempt at making a round a bout We have put up with these roadworks far too long. Could have had half the bypass built in this amount of time. Downers shame on you for the inefficient manner these roadworks have been handled


This

Posted on 19-04-2017 18:28 | By Capt_Kaveman

Whole roundabout idea is a great balls up and a major failure, yet another gridlock pinch point, this roundabout will solve nothing


Customers first ???!!!!!!!

Posted on 19-04-2017 18:57 | By sh2 commuter

NZTA's motto is put the customer first. It is remotely possibly that even the half wits in NZTA can detect some customer dissatisfaction in the comments above. Doubt it will make any difference to the presently appalling situation.


Not good news

Posted on 19-04-2017 19:48 | By PersonWorm

Great, huge numbers of frustrated and impatient drivers hurtling through the Te Puna back roads. This will not end well. I hope we don't see an increase in accidents at the intersection of Te Puna Station road and Te Puna road as a result of these frustrated and impatient drivers...


Shame on you Simon Bridges

Posted on 19-04-2017 20:48 | By stokey

I have just sent this article and comments to Simon Bridges. It will no doubt fall on deaf ears or result in the usual political claptrap we are used to. Thank goodness an election is due?


te puna round about

Posted on 19-04-2017 20:51 | By phoenix

And meanwhile ex council sub-dividers of the Minden,are rubbing their hands as their sections increase in value,due to easy access onto the main highway.


Watching the grass grow while waiting in a queue.

Posted on 20-04-2017 11:43 | By sonicchick

1 1/2 hours to get from passing lanes the other side of Whaka shops to Tauranga yesterday morning! The so called detours were stop start all the way with minimal traffic management. Is night time works not an option? Its an embarrassment to have to call clients to inform them that due to traffic mismanagement you would not be able to make the appointment. Are the people in charge of this road works not aware that this is a main road? The long queues yesterday just showed the high volume of vehicles that use this road. Past time for a 4 lane highway!


Total disaster

Posted on 21-04-2017 17:35 | By Roadkill

The mess has been happening for how long, is it 10-12 months and you are lucky to see a few guys with white costs wandering around for five with a clip board. No one actually working ever on this site. What a complete shambles it all is.


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