The agency's senior project manager Wayne Troughton said the exact opening date had yet to be confirmed however a combination of hard work and dry summers had allowed "significant" time savings.
He said the rebuild was well underway on the fire-damaged sections of the bridge at the Domain Rd interchange. Crews worked over the Christmas and New Year break to accelerate the bridge rebuild and minimise the impact on the opening.
The cost of the fire damage was around $3 million and had delayed the road's opening by about one month.
Tauranga Mayor Stuart Crosby said the earlier opening was tremendous news, recalling how his brother helped survey the route back in the early 1980s. He said the link would bring significant benefits to the transport industry, commuters and travellers, and ultimately support urban development in Papamoa East by construction of a link down into the intersection between the Wairakei and Te Tumu developments.
Bay of Plenty Regional Council's regional transport committee chairwoman Jane Nees said the opening would be the culmination of the council's transport planning function.
She described it as a whole-of-region project, prioritised by the committee's previous transport strategy which led to the project being funded by the Government as a road of national significance.
Opening the Eastern Link would make the Rangiuru Business Estate a very attractive proposition because the road ran through the middle of the area. The estate was owned by the regional council's investment arm Keyside Holdings, she said.
New Zealand Road Transport Association regional representative Derek Dumbar said the new road would be a godsend for transport operators.
Mr Dumbar estimated about nine million tonnes of freight was carried along the route every year.
