A smooth run for Pāpāmoa commuters is one step closer with the partial opening of the Te Maunga Interchange.
NZTA says the reopening is one piece of a bigger puzzle in its $262 million Baylink project.
Motorists will be able to use the new partial interchange on SH2 towards Mount Maunganui and on SH29A towards Maungatapu within the month.
Partially opening the interchange will allow the next stage of construction to begin on the Baylink - an on-ramp for traffic coming from Pāpāmoa.
To do this, traffic has to be removed from the traffic lights intersection by Baypark and diverted on to the interchange.
Waka Kotahi created an animation to show how the traffic flow would change when the interchange partially opens.
The next phase will also involve constructing the Truman Lane walkway, walking and cycling connections, and SH2 under the interchange.
Motorists going from Pāpāmoa towards Mount Maunganui will still use the existing road underneath the interchange.
The partially-opened interchange will temporarily be under traffic management and have a 50km/h speed limit.
As part of Baylink's next phase, the Truman Lane roundabout will be removed and the new roundabout on SH29A commissioned. While the final ramp approaching the interchange from Pāpāmoa is constructed, people travelling from Pāpāmoa via SH2 and SH29A to Maungatapu will detour via Sandhurst Drive, Mangatawa Link Rd and Truman Lane. There will be no left turn available from SH2 onto SH29A.
Waka Kotahi's Waikato and Bay of Plenty regional manager of infrastructure delivery Jo Wilton said it was "exciting" to partially open the interchange.
She said it was "a very important step" in the project, which is currently scheduled to finish late next year.
She said she thought the interchange would probably improve congestion for motorists who were no longer driving through the Baypark lights but motorists travelling the other direction may not see a difference as construction continued.
"There will still be impacts [to traffic flow] because there is still construction going on."
She said motorists would be able to "see the work that's gone in because they'll now be going up and over.
"They'll get kind of almost a sneak peek of what it is going to be like when it's finished".
She said all SH29A traffic would travel along the interchange, once it was open, removing the need for motorists to cross the railway line and allowing traffic to flow more freely.
"[This will] transform the intersection of the two state highways and improve safety for all road users."
Wilton said the Baylink project was "one piece of the puzzle for the whole [Tauranga] network".
"While it will alleviate some pressure, it won't solve all of it, and there are other projects that are under way which will start looking at that.
"This is one piece, but there is a wider strategy."
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