Starting at 10pm tonight, Sunday, July 14, and continuing each night this week until Friday morning, ‘coring’ testing will be taking place along Cameron Road.

This is underway at night from 10pm to 6am, and is to ensure the road surface meets compliance standards.

"This is a standard procedure and is expected to take five nights, weather permitting," says a Tauranga City Council spokesperson.

Temporary traffic management will be in place, including lane closures and full closures of the intersections where coring is taking place.

"We ask that you follow the posted detours and adhere to the speed limits and any instructions from our traffic team on-site.

"Temporary traffic management ensures the safety of the community, road users and our team."

Coring involves drilling into the road surface to take samples for laboratory testing. The purpose of coring is to assess the density and strength of the road surface to ensure its longevity.

Dates for coring:

• Sunday, 14 July – Fifteenth Avenue intersection (8 cores)
• Monday, 15 July – Thirteenth Avenue intersection (5 cores)
• Tuesday, 16 July – Eleventh Avenue intersection (6 cores)
• Wednesday, 17 July – Ninth Avenue intersection (5 cores)
• Thursday, 18 July – Elizabeth Street intersection (13 cores)

"The team will be working to minimise disruption, however, the process of coring is noisy because it involves drilling."

Road cones along Cameron Road. Photo: Tauranga City Council.

Council says drilling each hole takes approximately 10 minutes, then the hole is back filled.

"These works are undertaken at nights from 10pm to 6am, so that roads can be open during the day."

To take advantage of the temporary traffic management, the team will also do some minor work, including installing concrete foundations for directional signage at Fifteenth Avenue (west) north and south corners.

Noise is associated with these works, as the team will use a hydrovac truck to dig the foundation holes.

Work will also be underway in the central median along the length of the corridor to place concrete around the traffic signal chambers and sockets.

Meanwhile, investigation of underground services along Cameron Road from 17th Avenue to Maleme Street in Greerton, and along Pyes Pa Road between Havenbrook Way and Cheyne Road is continuing throughout July.

Most work will be off-road and any work within the road itself will be done at night to minimise disruption.

Lane closures are not expected however investigations will be undertaken at approximately 10-15km per hour, so traffic management may be required around the slow-moving survey vehicle.

More information about the site works is available here.