Roundabout win for Te Puna

BIG PLANS: The roundabout at the intersection of State Highway 2, Te Puna Rd and Minden Rd will go a long way to improve vehicle safety.PHOTO/SUPPLIED

Te Puna is celebrating a double victory with the announcement that funding has been approved to build a $7 million roundabout on the township's hazardous intersection with State Highway 2.

Construction of the two-lane roundabout begins next summer and is expected to take about six months.

The New Zealand Transport Agency will also be paying for a new purpose-built community hall to replace Te Puna's War Memorial Hall which stands in the path of the roundabout.

Western Bay District Council's infrastructure manager Gary Allis said the roundabout was a one-off opportunity to construct a new community hall near the current hall. The fate of the old hall, which has stood for nearly 100 years, was in the hands of the agency although Western Bay Mayor Ross Paterson said a final decision would be made in consultation with the community.

Long-time Te Puna resident Rosemary Chalmers was delighted that a roundabout was finally being built at the intersection of SH2 with Te Puna Rd and Minden Rd.

Mrs Chalmers said the roundabout would eliminate dangerous manoeuvres in which motorists turning right out of Minden Rd had to make the turn in two bites, parking in the middle of SH2 until there was a break in the traffic heading towards Tauranga.

Motorists turning left out of Te Puna Rd had to be aware that Minden Rd traffic was waiting in the middle of SH2 for the same gap in the traffic. It was not unusual to see broken glass and bent signs at the intersection, she said.

Mrs Chalmers had noticed a big build-up in traffic over the last 10 years as town moved out into the countryside. " ... it is murderous to get out, people are ducking and diving."

Another Te Puna resident, who asked not to be named, welcomed the safety improvement although she wondered what the impact would be on traffic flows along SH2 when they had to give way to local traffic.

The agency's Bay of Plenty highways manager, Niclas Johansson, said the roundabout was a key part of the SH2 Safe System Northern Corridor project. More than $5 million worth of safety improvements will be installed along the corridor over the next two months including guard rails and wide centre line treatments. They will also look at realigning sections of road to improve sight distance and address speed limits.

Mr Johansson said the agency would work with council, iwi, land owners and other key stakeholders over coming months on the consenting and designation process for the roundabout.