Work gets underway at Wairoa Rd, on the first of eight bridges to be built on Takitimu North Link Stage One. Photo / Supplied
Work gets underway at Wairoa Rd, on the first of eight bridges to be built on Takitimu North Link Stage One. Photo / Supplied
Less traffic, improved access to Tauranga and getting around "much easier".
These are some of the things local residents are looking forward to from the Takitimu North Link project, as construction gets under way on the bridge at Wairoa Rd.
The first stage of the Takitimu Northern Link isalready under way - it is 6.8km long and will connect SH29 Takitimu Drive to SH2 west of Te Puna. The bridge at Wairoa Rd is the first of eight bridges to be built.
An information session was held on Saturday at Bethlehem Hall to give the community an update on the progress of the project and to find out more about what was ahead during construction.
Bethlehem resident John Hill, who went to the event, said he was interested in the project because it would make "getting around this area so much easier".
"I think it would make life much more pleasant to not have a main road running right through the middle of your local village," he said.
"Plus I think for Tauranga in general, it will be a huge improvement to be able to get out of town and into town without the queues. Mind you, the queues won't stop until they've completed it out to Ōmokoroa."
Bethlehem resident John Hill said the Takitimu Northern Link project would be a "huge improvement" for access to Tauranga. Photo / Megan WIlson
Hill said the project would offer "a huge change for the better" for Bethlehem Village.
"The expected reduction in traffic will be utterly wonderful."
Hill went to the event because he was interested in the project's timescale and the amount of land it would take up.
But he was "disappointed" when he found out the second stage of the Takitimu North Link was no longer going to be funded.
Asha Reid said she was "definitely pleased" the construction of the Wairoa Rd overbridge would not affect her rowing. Photo / Megan Wilson
Asha Reid, 14, rows in the Wairoa river and went to the event to find out how the building of the bridge at Wairoa Rd would affect her rowing.
"We wanted to make sure that we could still row there without too much interruption," the Otūmoetai College student said.
"They're going to direct where we can row through so it's not going to affect us very much ... we're still going to be able to row, which is good."
Reid is part of the Bay of Plenty coast rowing club. During the summer, she rowed three times a week and during the winter she rowed once or twice a week.
Attendees at the community information session at Bethlehem Hall on Saturday. Photo / Megan Wilson
A Te Puna resident, who asked not to be named, went to the event "to have a look to see what they're doing".
She said the project was "very good" as it would provide better access to Tauranga city and going north of Te Puna.
"At the moment, the shortest route into town is through Te Puna Station Rd, but a lot of people coming down from the north from Ōmokoroa way now use that very early in the morning to try and cut through the bulk of traffic coming down on State Highway 2."
Work gets underway at Wairoa Rd, on the first of eight bridges to be built on Takitimu North Link Stage One. Photo / Supplied
In a media release on May 23, Waka Kotahi New Zealand Transport Agency regional manager of infrastructure delivery Jo Wilton said: "We've reached an exciting phase with work starting on the bridge at Wairoa Rd, the first of eight major structures on the project."
Piling would be under way this week for about six weeks. The bridge would take around 12 months to build.
The Wairoa Rd overbridge is 95m long and one of a series of three large span ridge bridges that will be built as part of the $655 million New Zealand Upgrade Programme project.
The project includes eight bridges totalling 1.6km of the 6.8km route, made up of 45 spans and about 12km of piles. They range in length from 20m to 360m and in height from 6m to 25m.
A diversion road on Wairoa Rd had been built to enable the building of bridge and would operate with a speed limit of 30km/h. The bridge would be built "offline" (away from the site) and would not disrupt traffic.
