Roading crews will be a familiar site on the state highway network across the wider Rotorua region over coming weeks, with a number of worksites to the city’s north-east all happening at the same time.

First out of the blocks is the State Highway 33 road rebuild near the boundary with Western Bay of Plenty District Council, which commenced this week. Crews will be on site between 6am and 6pm, Monday – Saturday right through until late December.

Next week is when things move up a gear, with a road closure on SH30 between Matahi Road and SH34 Kawerau Road.

This will allow asphalt surfacing work to take place in a number of narrow sections of the road.

This work is disruptive, says Roger Brady, Acting Regional Manager, Maintenance and Operations at Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency, however the benefits far outweigh the negatives.

“This summer is our most significant ever, with more than 2500 lane kilometres of road resealing and rebuilding across the country. More than 250 lane kilometres of this is across the Bay of Plenty, and we simply can’t complete all of this work without causing disruption to people’s journeys.

“We’ve done our best to plan across the region, however over the coming weeks there will be additional travel time on both SH30 and SH33. People travelling to or from Rotorua need to factor in the additional time to their planning, to ensure they reach their destination on time.”

SH30 will be closed at Matahi Road between 7am and 5pm each day next week, and during this time road users will have to use SH33 when travelling between Rotorua and the Eastern Bay of Plenty region.

Those still using SH30 will also see a separate road rebuild commence at Ruato Bay from Tuesday 14 November, with this work ongoing until early December.

As well as road renewals, those journeying through this area will also see safety improvement work near Sun Valley Curves on SH33, and the SH30 Eastern Corridor Stage Two project (Iles Road to Coulter Road) within Rotorua.

“The lead-up to Christmas is a busy time on our roads, for both those working on them and those travelling on them.

“We all need to work together – follow all signage on site and any instructions crew may give you. We’re working hard to complete a significant programme of work which will provide better roads to drive on.”

Road users can check the latest state highway road conditions, including where worksites and incidents are, on the Waka Kotahi Journey Planner (www.journeys.nzta.govt.nz).

Worksite Snapshot:

SH33

• Road rebuild (Western BOP DC boundary)
• • 6 November – late December
  • Stop/go traffic management 6am – 6pm, Monday – Saturday
• Road rebuild (Paengaroa)
• • 20 November – late-December
  • Stop/go traffic management 6am – 6pm, Monday – Saturday
• Sun Valley Curves safety improvements
• • Ongoing until mid-2024
  • Stop/go traffic management, Monday to Friday
  • https://nzta.govt.nz/projects/connect-rotorua/sh33-te-ngae-to-paengaroa/

SH30

• Asphalt resurfacing (Rotomā)
• • 13 – 17 November
  • Road closed 7am – 5pm each day, between Matahi Road and SH34 Kawerau Road
  • Detour via SH33, SH2 and SH34
• Road rebuild (Ruato Bay)
• • 14 November until early December
  • Stop/go traffic management 7am – 6pm, Monday to Friday
• Eastern Corridor Stage Two (Iles Road – Coulter Road)
• • Ongoing until mid-2024
  • Various traffic management requirements through this area