People are experiencing an increase in travel time on State Highway 2 (SH2), between Te Puna and Aongatete, and it’s set to continue now chipseal works have begun along the corridor, acknowledges NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA).
Chipsealing provides important waterproofing of the road surface which protects road pavements. Once crews have completed laying and rolling the new chip, traffic moving across the chip at temporary speeds over a 24-hour period to helps the chipseal bed in.
While every endeavour is made to minimise the impact to traffic, with most of the works done at night, temporary speed limits and other traffic management during the day do slow traffic.
“SH2 is an incredibly sensitive piece of road and any reduced speed limits from work or incidents near or on this road sees changes in traffic flow,” says Sandra King, Bay of Plenty System Manager, for NZTA. Pavement rebuild works have now started at Snodgrass Road and the chipseal programme is underway north of Te Mete Road”.
“The impact on SH2 has been felt for some time - once a rural road passing through a few settlements, it’s developed into a busy commuter and freight route.
“The main cause of congestion is the sheer volume of traffic, with more than 6000 vehicles per day added to this corridor in the last 10 years. Last week also saw people returning to work or driving home from holiday, further impacted by a major scrub fire and an emergency incident contributing to the disruption.
Chipseal sites between Tauranga and Katikati have been programmed at night to coincide with reduced traffic volumes during the daytime over this school holiday period. This week, sites located between Clarke and Te Mete Roads and Barrett and Ōmokoroa Roads are under construction before anticipated wet weather sets in later in the week. From Sunday, weather depending, work will commence on a site north of Ōmokoroa near Francis Road, and three sites between Hot Springs Road and Walker Road East.
As well as maintenance works, 2 roundabouts are in construction for the SH2 Waihī to Ōmokoroa Safety Improvements project at Apata Station Road, and Pahoia and Esdaile Roads. There is also the roundabout construction at SH2 Ōmokoroa Road (more details below).
“We appreciate any delay to travel is frustrating. People should allow extra time for their journeys, and we thank them for their patience while this important work is completed,” says Ms King.
This work forms part of the government’s $2.07 billion investment into road and drainage renewal and maintenance across 2024-27 via the State Highway Pothole Prevention fund.
People are encouraged to plan ahead and see where disruptive works are by using the NZTA Journey Planner.
NZTA Journey Planner(external link)
NZTA thanks road users and the community for their patience.
*All dates are subject to suitable weather conditions.