The intersection of State Highway 2 and Wainui Road in the Eastern Bay of Plenty will be made much safer and more efficient for vehicles and freight with the construction of a new and long-awaited roundabout.

The area is locally known as Matekerepu, between Awakeri and Ōpōtiki. 

Construction will start on the new roundabout in late April/early May and once completed, will complement other safety improvements already completed in the area, including road widening, side barrier installation, and line marking. 

In recent weeks enabling works have taken place, preparing the site for crews to start work on this much welcomed project.

In the coming weeks, people can expect to see crews clearing vegetation to prepare the site for construction.  

During construction, road users can expect some delays and traffic management, and temporary speed limits will be in place.

“We will update the community with more details closer to the start of construction,” an NZTA Waka Kotahi spokesperson said.

A blessing led by local iwi Te Ūpokorehe took place at the work site last week to mark the start of the project.

The roundabout, which is warmly welcomed by the community, will take approximately 12 months to complete. 

Road users are reminded to check the NZTA Journey Planner website for the latest road conditions across the state highway network. 

Bay of Plenty 

Tauranga 

• SH2/Fifteenth Ave: Major works to build the connection from SH2/Fifteenth Ave to SH29/Takitimu Drive Toll Road are progressing as part of the Takitimu North Link project. Works are underway and include the building of a 120m long retaining wall and earthworks, and we’re preparing to start the construction of the single lane bridge connecting SH2/Fifteenth Ave to SH29/Takitimu Drive Toll Road. Piling is underway and will take approximately 3 months, and construction of the bridge will take approximately 12 months to complete. One lane at SH2/Fifteenth Ave near Edgecumbe Road is closed while this work takes place, this is likely to remain in place until mid-2026.  More information.

The on-ramp connecting SH29/Takitimu Drive Toll Road to SH2, heading up to Fifteenth Ave, is currently closed until Sunday 13 April. This is to complete work before road widening to 2 lanes as part of the Takitimu North Link Stage 1 project. While the on-ramp is closed traffic is detoured via SH2 to Elizabeth Street Roundabout, via Eleventh Ave and Cameron Road. 

• SH29 Valley View Road, Kaimai Range: Until late May, temporary traffic management is in place which includes a closure of the passing lane at Valley View Road, lane shifts and a temporary 50km/h and 30km/h speed limit through the work site. This is to enable drainage maintenance and road resurfacing to take place. This work will be completed during the day and night and traffic management will remain 24/7. All lanes will be open over the weekends. 
• SH29 McLaren Falls Road: Until mid-April, to enable road surfacing work, temporary traffic management including lane shifts and a closure of the Lower Kaimai Range passing lane (from Poripori Road until just after McLaren Falls Road) is in place. To ensure the safety of road users and our team, there’s a reduced speed limit of 50km/h through the site and 30km/h at the intersection with McLaren Falls Road. Three lanes will be open at the weekends.  
• SH29 Tauriko, between Redwood Lane and Cambridge Road: Project construction is ongoing at multiple sites, with shoulder closures, temporary speed limits and mobile operations in place. On Saturday 5 April, between 8am and 4pm, there will be shoulder closures on both sides of SH29 in the Tauriko Village for overhead power line work. At the Takitimu Drive Roundabout, the slip lane from SH29 to Takitimu Drive Toll Road remains closed, during off-peak hours 9am - 4pm, until mid-April while fill materials are carted into a future wetland area. Traffic can join Takitimu Drive Toll Road from the roundabout. Shoulder closures also remain in place on the southbound lane of SH29 from 953 SH29 to Gargan Road for service investigations until mid-April.  More information 
• SH29 Takitimu Drive Toll Road: The Takitimu Drive Toll Road will be closed on Sunday 13 April from 8pm to 5am, so crews can move barriers and remove the southbound passing lanes. There will be a detour via SH29, Cambridge Road and Moffat Road. 
• SH29 Takitimu Drive Toll Road: Ongoing works in this area for the Takitimu North Link project include the construction of a flyover bridge and southbound slip lane. A reduced speed limit of 70km/h remains in place while crews are working behind the barriers. Traffic is anticipated to be diverted onto the flyover bridge and southbound slip lane in the next year while works continue. The ramp between SH29 Takitimu Drive and Fifteenth Ave is closed until Sunday 13 April.  The detour is in place via Takitimu Drive, Elizabeth Street and Cameron Road. More information. 
• SH2 Hewletts Road, Tauranga: Resurfacing night works on Hewletts Road will continue into next week. Crews will return on Sunday 13 April for 4 nights between 7pm and 5am to complete the Golf Road roundabout resurfacing. During this time the road will be closed in both directions and a detour available in both directions via Newton Road, Hull Road, Tweed Street and Concord Ave.  More information.  
• SH2 Tauranga Eastern Link Toll Road (TELTR): The Tauranga City Council led project continues. A 2km section of SH2, just past the Kaituna River Bridge, continues to be reduced to a single lane in each direction allowing construction of the Pāpāmoa East Interchange to progress. This closure will remain in place for the duration of construction, with a temporary 70km/h speed limit in place. More information. 

Western Bay of Plenty 

• SH2 Tanners Point:  SH2 near Aongatete, between Westbank Drive and Walker Road East, tree felling will take place from Monday  7 April, between 9am and 3pm, for the next 3 weeks. There will be traffic management in place with a reduced speed limit.
• SH2 Apata Station Road to Wainui South Road: Road works are underway in preparation for the new roundabout. Lane shifts are in place along with speed restrictions. There will be intermittent stop/go traffic management in place which may cause longer delays. Follow the temporary signs and directions of the traffic management team and watch for layout changes. Expect minor delays. 
• SH2 Turners Road rebuild: Following completion of the newly rebuilt southbound lanes, traffic will be shifted to allow construction of the northbound lanes. To manage this phase safely, the work will be done in stages. Road users should expect some layout changes as it is completed. Speed restrictions are in place. 
• SH2 Pahoia Road to Plummers Point Road: While services are being installed lane shifts will be in place along with speed restrictions. Intermittent stop/go traffic management may cause longer delays. Follow the temporary signs and directions of the traffic management team and watch for layout changes. Expect minor delays. 
• SH2 Ōmokoroa Road: The temporary roundabout is now operational while construction and service relocation works are underway in preparation for the new roundabout. Major road construction is underway north of the intersection. This work will be undertaken overnight under stop/go with a single lane operational. During the day 2 lanes will be open for traffic. Other works will continue offline during the day. Lane shifts are in place along with speed restrictions. Intermittent stop/go traffic management may cause longer delays. Follow the temporary signs and directions of the traffic management team and watch for layout changes. Expect minor delays especially during peak times.  More information 
• SH2 Minden Road – Takitimu North Link Stage 1: There is a temporary speed limit of 30km/h throughout the worksite area of Minden Road. Please take care travelling through and adhere to the speed limit. 

Rotorua 

• SH30 Te Ngae Road-Wharenui Road: Work is underway at the SH30 Te Ngae Road and Wharenui Road intersection with Wharenui Road closed to through-traffic from the intersection until May. Pedestrian/cycle access is retained. Wharenui Road can be reached via Coulter/Glenfield or Brent/Reeve roads. On SH30 Te Ngae Road traffic management including speed restrictions are in place. A temporary pedestrian refuge is in place 250m south of the intersection. More information 

• SH30 Puarenga Bridge, Rotorua: Inspections at the Puarenga Bridge will take place at night on Monday 7 April. There will be a temporary speed limit and a lane closure in place. 
  SH36 Te Pu: A road rebuild is underway on SH36, Te Pu north of Dudley Road, Monday to Friday, between 7.30am and 5.30pm. Expect delays as there is stop/go traffic management in place with a 30km/h speed limit. Peak morning and evening traffic flows will be prioritised. This work is weather dependent and expected to be completed Friday 11 April.  

Eastern Bay of Plenty 

• SH2 Taneatua – Pekatahi Bridge will be closed for general maintenance works between Monday 14 April and Wednesday 16 April between 8.30am and 4.30 pm. The road will reopen under stop/go traffic management on Thursday 17 April, weather dependent. 
• SH35 Ōpape: Underslip repairs are underway and expected to finish mid-April. Works are taking place Monday to Saturday, between 7am and 5pm, with stop/go traffic management and a temporary speed limit of 30km/h in place. While the site is unattended there will be temporary speed limit of 50km/h in place. More information 
• SH35 Te Kura O Tōrere: Work is due to start near Te Kura O Tōrere east of Ōpōtiki on 2 slips. While these repairs are underway, this section of SH35 will be down to 1 lane for up to 6 months.  

Waikato 

• SH1 Tīrau to Waiouru Accelerated Maintenance Programme:   

SH1 Putāruru to Lichfield: Is expected to be reopened tomorrow morning, weather dependent, (Saturday 5 April). This section will be reopened under temporary traffic management, to allow traffication, road sweeping and line marking. The temporary speed limit will be removed once sweeping and line marking is complete.  

SH1 Ātiamuri to Wairakei: We had anticipated opening this section at the end of this week, however unfortunately the amount of rain forecast means we cannot confidently open it with the fresh seal. We are planning to reopen this section on Wednesday 9 April, weather dependent. We will need to return to sweep and line mark this section following the 2025 ITM Taupō Super 440 event, which is on between Friday 11 and Sunday 13 April. There is 9km of line marking to complete between Ātiamuri to Wairakei.   

While the section is still closed the detour for light vehicles (all vehicles you can drive on a regular car/Class 1 licence) is:  

• • SH30, SH32 and Poihipi Road to Wairakei Drive and vice versa. The detour for light vehicle adds approximately 23 minutes and 32km to journeys.  
  • All heavy vehicles traveling locally use SH5 via Rotorua which will add 43 minutes to the journey. 

East Waikato 

• SH25 Hikuai: Work to replace a culvert at Boom Stream Bridge is underway. Shoulder closures and temporary speed restrictions are in place. Both lanes will usually be available but there may be some occasional lane closures. This work is weather dependent and expected to take up to 6 weeks to complete.  
• SH25 Moana Anu Anu River Bridge, Whangamatā: Deck repairs to the SH25 Moana Anu Anu River Bridge will be carried out in the week beginning Monday 7 April. The bridge will be closed for approximately 24 hours from 8am on Tuesday 8 April, to allow for work that can only be done without traffic on the bridge, including replacement of deck planks.  During this time a detour will be in place and clearly signposted. Traffic management with occasional short-term stop/stop closures will be required across the remainder of the week while further work is completed. This work is weather dependent, and if dates need to change, we will provide a further update. 
• SH29 Te Poi: SH29 is open after a road rebuild.  Traffic management will remain in place on SH29 until line marking can take place over the weekend, weather dependent. 

Central Waikato 

• SH1/SH5 Taupō: Drivers travelling near the Taupō Commercial Vehicle Safety Centre – under construction at the SH1/SH5 roundabout – need to be aware of changing road layouts and speed restrictions. Contractors are installing in-road weigh-in-motion scales and associated camera technology and electronic sign boards until May. These are being installed on 5 of the roads heading towards the safety centre, including SH1 and SH5. Temporary lanes and speed restrictions will be in place.   
• SH1/SH5 Taupō - ITM Taupo Supercars 440 event starts on Thursday 10 April until Sunday 13 April with the track to town event.  Event racing starts on Friday until Sunday.  Expect to see increased traffic on the network. 

West Waikato 

• SH1B Telephone Road, Hamilton: Construction is ongoing on a range of improvements at the rail crossing on SH1B Telephone Road and the adjacent intersection with Holland Road and Marshmeadow Road. Road upgrade work is expected to be complete next month and there are several detours in place while the work is ongoing. 

• SH1C Te Rapa: Overnight on Sunday 6 April between midnight and 3am a section of flexible safety barriers on both lanes of the Te Rapa section of SH1C will be repaired. To enable this work to take place both the southbound and northbound lanes will be closed, a detour will be available via Te Rapa Road for all vehicles. 
• SH1 Ngāruawāhia: While remedial and safety improvements were largely completed to get all lanes open by Christmas, some minor finishing and defects works are underway until Friday 30 May. Work within the lanes is being done under lane closures between 8am and 4pm Monday to Friday (2pm take down on Fridays) and at night between 6pm-6am Sunday-Thursday. Outside those hours all lanes are open to traffic with no speed restrictions. 
• SH1 Waikato Expressway - Cambridge section: We were not able to complete the work intended for this week due to weather. We are watching the weather forecast closely and intend to complete the work on fine days over the next 2 to 3 weeks. 

When work commences, there will be north and south bound lane closures to allow contractors to reseal sections of the road prior to the onset of winter. There are 4 work sites in total to be repaired – 2 northbound and 2 southbound. Following the work the lanes will be under temporary traffic management with a reduce speed limit in place.  More information 

• SH1/SH29 Piarere intersection: Work is continuing on the new roundabout with landscaping and minor finishing works underway, including planting adjacent to the SH29, Tauranga approach. This will be followed by planting along the SH1, Tīrau and SH1, Hamilton approaches. Intermittent lane deviations and shoulder closures will be in place as required for this work. Night works (7pm to 6am) to complete the final line marking and rumble strip are planned for the next 2 weeks, starting Sunday 6 April, Sunday to Thursday nights. Temporary traffic management including shoulder closures and lane deviations will be in place, and minor traffic delays are expected. NZTA thanks motorists for their patience and asks drivers to stick to the temporary speed limit of 60km/h on all approaches to the roundabout and take extra care when travelling through the area.  More information 
• SH3 Rukuhia: A road rebuild is underway on SH3 between Rukuhia Road and Narrows Road. The work is due to be completed by Wednesday 9 April, weather permitting. A 24/7 southbound detour will be in place for light vehicles via Raynes Road, SH21 Airport Road to re-join SH3. Rukuhia Road will always remain open but will only be left in and left out. Residents travelling southbound will be required to use the detour route to travel north to access properties.  Buses, heavy vehicles, HPMV’s and over dimension vehicles will be stacked and released to align with the bus timetable.  More information 
• SH3 Ōtorohanga: Resurfacing work will take place for 2 nights from Monday 14 April on SH3 Maniapoto Street between Clarke Street and Pine Street from 8pm to 6am. The intersection at SH39/SH3 will be closed to through-traffic while the work is ongoing, there will also be stop/go traffic management and a reduced speed limit in place. There will be a detour available via Tuhoro Street and Lawrence Street.    

North Waikato 

• SH1 Dragway Road to Island Block Road: There will be a full northbound closure on Thursday 10 April between 9pm and 5am for general maintenance, traffic will still be able to travel north using one of the southbound lanes. 

• SH2 Rawiri Road to Maxwell Road: Stop/go traffic management will be in place on Wednesday 9 April between 9pm and 5am for general maintenance between Rawiri Road and Maxwell Road. 
• SH2 Okaeria Road to Steen Road: Stop/go traffic management will be in place on Wednesday 9 April between 9pm and 5am for general maintenance between Okaeria Road and Steen Road. 

Manuwatū -Whanganui 

• SH4 Ōtoko: Retaining wall work to improve the road shoulder and improve drainage is due for completion around mid-April. The worksite will be under 24/7 traffic management during construction, delays of 5-10 minutes are to be expected. 

Tairāwhiti Gisborne/Hawke’s Bay 

• SH5 Napier to Taupō: Recovery alliance Transport Rebuild East Coast (TREC) continues to progress safety improvements, as well as repair, recovery and maintenance activities at multiple sites on SH5 between Eskdale and Waipunga. More information 

Taranaki 

• SH3 Mount Messenger: 2 months of enabling works for Te Ara o Te Ata - Mt Messenger Bypass project started on Monday 17 March during the day between 6am to 6pm. There will be stop/go traffic management and a reduced speed limit in place Monday to Saturday each week. 

The above information is accurate at the time of release. Many of the above works are dependent on a number of factors, particularly weather, and may be postponed at short notice. For up-to-date information on road works, traffic, detours and delays, motorists are encouraged to visit the NZTA Journey Planner website (journeys.nzta.govt.nz). 
 
NZTA thanks motorists for their patience while we complete this essential work to keep the state highway network safe, accessible and resilient.  

Plan ahead for a safe, enjoyable journey.

Keep up to date with:

• Traffic updates: journeys.nzta.govt.nz/traffic
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nztawbop
• X (formerly Twitter): https://x.com/nztawbop
• Journey planner: journeys.nzta.govt.nz
• Phone: 0800 4 HIGHWAYS (0800 44 44 49)