Te Puke braces for Tauranga Eastern Link impact

Linda (left) and Karen May from Ella's Cafe have not been impacted by the opening of the Tauranga Eastern Link yesterday. Photo / George Novak

Te Puke retailers have noticed fewer trucks on the road with the new Tauranga Eastern Link opening yesterday, but have not reported an impact on their businesses.

Linda May, from Ella's Cafe, said the opening of the new road had not made a difference to the number of customers.

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She said that, if anything, there had been more people driving through Te Puke to try out the new road, so the town was still busy.

"We've still had customers struggling to find a car park," she said.

Te Puke Home Cookery owner Sony Kung said Mondays were usually quiet so it was hard to tell whether there had been any impact on business, but she had noticed there were fewer trucks using the road.

"We will see what happens during the week."

The shop drew a lot of custom from truck drivers, but seasonal workers also visited regularly.

"Hopefully there will be people passing through who want to see Te Puke."

Joy Sushi owner Sumi Mileham said the main road through Te Puke was a lot quieter and while there were fewer trucks coming through, trucks were still using the road.

"It does seem a little more quiet but it's hard to say on a Monday."

Ninder Kaur, of Super Clearance, said there had been a small effect but people were still turning up at the shop in similar numbers.

BP staff also had not noticed a difference.

The old road from Paengaroa to Domain Rd through Te Puke officially passed into Western Bay District Council ownership on Saturday and has been renamed the Te Puke Highway.

State Highway 2 now encompasses the Tauranga Eastern Link.

The new road will reduce traffic through Te Puke by about 7000 vehicles per day, including a significant number of trucks.

Mayor Ross Paterson said the conversion of the Te Puke Highway to a local road, and the subsequent reduction in traffic, would enable Te Puke to develop a greater "sense of place".

"The change in status from a state highway also brings economic benefit to Te Puke. Development consent off a state highway is very difficult to obtain, however, development off a local road is easier. But this development potential needs more discussion as it could bring safety and speed issues."

It will cost the council about $750,000 annually to maintain the Te Puke Highway, with half of this funded by the Transport Agency and the other half through rates.

Tauranga Eastern Link

* More than 1,480,000 hours were worked on the project
* The largest structure is the Kaituna River bridge at 186m long
* The road is 21km long
* Work started on the project in November 2010
* Officially opened by Prime Minister John Key on June 30, opened to traffic on August 3