Installation of traffic lights will begin from this month at two of Tauranga's busiest intersections, in an effort by the New Zealand Transport Agency to get the city's congestion under control.

Queue-activated traffic lights will be installed on the busiest ‘lead in' roads at Barkes Corner (State Highway 29A) and Elizabeth Street (State Highway 2) roundabouts.

NZTA Bay of Plenty transport system manager Rob Campbell says this is called ‘roundabout metering' and is used to control the number of vehicles entering a roundabout.

'The traffic lights are installed at least 25 metres away from the roundabout intersection, and manage the flow of traffic entering the roundabout.

'This method is used when one road accessing the roundabout has a higher number of vehicles compared to the other roads, causing delays on the other roads entering the roundabout.

'Most of the time the traffic lights will be green, except when high traffic queues activate the metering, then they will turn red for a short period to hold the vehicles.”

He says the lights will improve the flow of traffic around the roundabouts and the journey for all drivers, not just the ones on the roads with the higher number of vehicles.

Standard give-way rules will still apply when entering the roundabouts.

The lights will be installed on two legs of the SH29A Barkes Corner roundabout: the Pyes Pa Road approach and SH29A Tauriko-bound approach; and the SH2 northbound approach to the Elizabeth Street roundabout.

'Installation will begin later in June 2018 and the aim is to have the lights operational later this year. Works to install the traffic lights and traffic loops is expected to cause minimal disruption to people's journeys through the area,” says Rob.

'The work is part of a wider programme being implemented across the region to improve safety and journey times.”