Bay of Plenty Times
  • Bay of Plenty Times home
  • Latest news
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
  • Sport
  • Video
  • Death notices
  • Classifieds

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Residential property listings
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
  • Sport

Locations

  • Coromandel & Hauraki
  • Katikati
  • Tauranga
  • Mount Maunganui
  • Pāpāmoa
  • Te Puke
  • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua

Media

  • Video
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-Editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

Weather

  • Thames
  • Tauranga
  • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Bay of Plenty Times

Tauranga council hands over Welcome Bay slip lane saga to independent engineers

Kiri Gillespie
Kiri Gillespie
Assistant News Director and Multimedia Journalist·Bay of Plenty Times·
19 Apr, 2019 10:00 PM2 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save
    Share this article
The saga of Welcome Bay Lane is now being handled by independent engineers. Photo / Fie

The saga of Welcome Bay Lane is now being handled by independent engineers. Photo / Fie

Tauranga roading authorities have handed over the Welcome Bay slip lane saga to independent engineers for a solution.

Tauranga City Council communications manager Aimee Driscoll confirmedthe council and the NZ Transport Agency were "looking into different options for the Welcome Bay slip lane".

In an email response to questions, Driscoll said the review was being completed by independent engineers.

"We are still awaiting the outcome of those reviews."

More detail, such as how much the independent engineers' review would cost, was expected within the next couple of working days, she said.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

It is understood the engineers were commissioned for the job last week, when four individuals were spotted analysing both the Welcome Bay slip lane and Hairini Bus Lane areas.

The review comes after Tauranga Mayor Greg Brownless and council chief executive Marty Grenfell visited the site where Welcome Bay Rd meets with Welcome Bay Lane.

Welcome Bay Lane was closed unexpectedly on September 28 after concerns were raised over how the road intersected with the cycleway.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

The cordon was expected to be in place for three months, but nearly six months on it remains closed. An independent report into the transport agency-led Maungatapu Underpass project - prompted after the Bay of Plenty Times' coverage - found 25 safety issues, including the Welcome Bay Rd cycleway, which cuts across the entrance to Welcome Bay Lane.

Welcome Bay ward councillor Bill Grainger said the delay in reopening the slip lane was not good enough.

"It should not be that long. Our staff and NZTA should have had this sorted by now. There are no excuses. That's why it's been taken out of Tauranga City Council's hands," he said.

Grainger said residents were frustrated at not being able to use Welcome Bay Lane, which acted as an easy slip road for traffic travelling 60km/h towards Hairini, Mount Maunganui, Greerton and Ohauiti. That traffic is now funnelled into a controlled intersection at Hammond St, where it waits to turn left.

Discover more

Residents want 30m+ protected trees halved

24 Apr 09:00 PM

Tauranga rates rises: A suburb-by-suburb breakdown

22 Apr 09:00 PM

Two crashes in Bay overnight, one person arrested

18 Apr 11:33 PM
New Zealand

Award-winning Tauranga mathematician elected Fellow of Royal Society of London

18 Apr 11:48 PM

"We want something done asap, even temporarily, to get traffic moving."

Save
    Share this article

Latest from Bay of Plenty Times

Premium
Bay of Plenty Times

Former city councillor's gold-trading business collapses

19 Sep 06:00 PM
Bay of Plenty Times

'Absolutely nuts': Hailstorm hits ahead of school holiday 'atmospheric river'

19 Sep 06:00 AM
Bay of Plenty Times

20-minute free parking approved for Tauranga city centre and fringe zones

19 Sep 01:52 AM

Sponsored

Kiwi campaign keeps on giving

07 Sep 12:00 PM
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Bay of Plenty Times

Premium
Premium
Former city councillor's gold-trading business collapses
Bay of Plenty Times

Former city councillor's gold-trading business collapses

Liquidators say unsecured creditors are owed more than $300,000.

19 Sep 06:00 PM
'Absolutely nuts': Hailstorm hits ahead of school holiday 'atmospheric river'
Bay of Plenty Times

'Absolutely nuts': Hailstorm hits ahead of school holiday 'atmospheric river'

19 Sep 06:00 AM
20-minute free parking approved for Tauranga city centre and fringe zones
Bay of Plenty Times

20-minute free parking approved for Tauranga city centre and fringe zones

19 Sep 01:52 AM


Kiwi campaign keeps on giving
Sponsored

Kiwi campaign keeps on giving

07 Sep 12:00 PM
NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • Bay of Plenty Times e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the Bay of Plenty Times
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP