Southern Pipeline halfway across Tauranga Harbour

Cranes line up to support the pipes as they are fed into the hole under the harbour. Photo/George Novak

The Southern Pipeline is on track to emerge on the Matapihi side of the harbour today.

Tauranga City Council infrastructure manager Christine Jones said steel pipes began being thrust and pulled through a 1.6km-long drilled hole under the harbour from Memorial Park on Friday, supported by a line of cranes.

They breached the 1km mark yesterday.

This morning Jones said work had continued overnight and the pipeline was likely to come up on the Matapihi side mid-morning.

It's a major moment for the $99 million project, which has been beset by delays and problems since construction started in Greerton in mid-2010.

Jones said the harbour crossing was the riskiest part of the project.

Project manager Steve Wiggill told the Bay of Plenty Times the work to push the pipes through was taking place continuously, 24 hours a day, in order to keep the hole open and the pipes moving.