First impressions of the Bayfair flyover range from "great" to "a nightmare from hell" as the community decides whether the six year road project is worth the wait.

The flyover is part of the $262 million Baypark to Bayfair project, also known as Baylink or B2B, and aims to separate commuter and freight highway traffic from traffic using local roads.

The Bayfair flyover opened to the public on Thursday, April 27. Since then, Tauranga motorists have quickly taken to SunLive to share their thoughts.

One SunLive reader describes the traffic as "still slow and a mess".

"Still took almost an hour to get to work. No change."

Another SunLive reader says while going under Sandhurst overbridge at around 8.15am, coming from Papamoa East, they noticed the road layout has become "much worse, not better".

"Traffic wasn't too bad at this time compared to the usual 7am to 7.30am traffic.

"But there was a very short amount of road for both sides of incoming traffic to cross over, depending on if you want to go over or under.

"It is an accident waiting to happen, and will make even longer wait times while people are literally 'dodging' last minute manoeuvres."

The reader says the amount of road for traffic to cross over is too short. Photo: Supplied.

"Coming back the other way either over bridge or from the roundabout, same problem in the same area – very small amount of distance for cars to move to the left or right lane depending if you want to head to Papamoa or go right to Welcome Bay.

"Why have they still got signage saying Left lane for straight through traffice to Papamoa etc only and right for turning to Welcome Bay/Ohauiti traffic only?

"It's plain stupidity, as this already caused blockages because of the volume of traffic needing to go straight through. And now it'll be even worse."

The reader says they have seen "many trucks," including traffic control, ignore the signage and "go straight through" from the right lane.

"There is no logical reason why it is like this."

Road users have also taken to the Bay of Plenty & Waikato Accidents & Traffic Information Facebook page to share their thoughts.

"The volume of traffic is still the same," says one commenter.

"It's a nightmare from hell," a user adds.

"What a joke, 39 minutes to drive 9km," says another.

Not everyone had a bad experience however, as one simply commented "it's actually very good".

A point was also raised about the amount of lanes being reduced.

"New road, less lanes, more congestion. Avoid."

Another SunLive reader says they don't take the new flyover, but have noticed the traffic on either side is "much worse" after the roundabout.

"It's no better. It's almost as if they've just shifted the bottleneck rather than actually fix it."

Waka Kotahi says the primary benefit of the Bay Link project is to improve safety and complete the State Highway 2 Eastern Corridor for the Bay of Plenty.

'The flyover will improve resiliency for freight traffic to the Port of Tauranga, by separating heavy freight vehicles from local traffic.

'Separating local traffic from state highway and rail corridor, as well as providing safer walking and cycling connections – all improve safety. Improved safety means fewer disruptions and ultimately a more reliable journey for everyone.

'With traffic switches of this scale, where we connect existing lanes with a new piece of infrastructure, it usually takes a number of weeks for people to get used to the new layout and travel it confidently.

'All road users are encouraged to plan their first journeys through the area before leaving home, allow extra time, share the roads with care and patience, and follow all directions – especially during peak time. Once the new traffic layout has bedded in, traffic flow is expected to improve.

'Works will continue at both ends of the project and include construction of the larger and signalised Bayfair roundabout, the remaining SH2/29A Te Maunga interchange off-ramp, Truman Lane, walking and cycling connections across the project as well as final works on the underpass.

'All existing roads within the extent of the Bay Link site are being replaced to support heavier, and a higher number of, vehicles, and the final layer of road surface will be applied once the majority of works have been completed.

'These works will continue to require temporary traffic management, lane and road closures to ensure this work can be carried out safely. These mean that it will temporarily change the way people navigate the area until project completion, and people can expect delays.

'The project is expected to make a difference to overall traffic flow and reliability upon project completion.

'Waka Kotahi thanks residents, businesses, people travelling through the site while we work towards completing the project.”