Protesters angry at Government inaction over State Highway 2 blocked the Wairoa Bridge in 2018. Photo / File
Protesters angry at Government inaction over State Highway 2 blocked the Wairoa Bridge in 2018. Photo / File
Construction on the $478 million Tauranga Northern Link is expected to begin this year, marking a key milestone for a project some believed would never happen.
Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency is now seeking expressions of interest for the Tauranga Northern Link (TNL) as part of the New Zealand UpgradeProgramme.
The first stage of the project will involve a four-lane corridor connecting State Highway 29, near Route K, with SH2 west of Te Puna. It will be built separately to the existing stretch of SH2 that runs from Tauranga city to Katikati.
A map of where the Tauranga Northern Link will run. Image / NZTA
The TNL comes 15 years after land was first bought for the project and after several years of political delays and hard advocacy from local leaders and community.
Western Bay of Plenty mayor Garry Webber said confirmation of construction starting this year and seeking expressions of interest were significant milestones.
Webber has spent most of his two terms as mayor fighting for the project, with support from Bay of Plenty Regional Council, Tauranga City Council and Smartgrowth. Previous Western Bay mayors Ross Paterson and Graeme Weld also worked to progress the project.
"There has been a lot of commentary about it - lots of people saying it will never happen. Well, it's going to happen now," Webber said.
The project will be broken into two stages with the first part expected to be completed by 2025.
The second part, which would involve four-laning from the end of the link to the Ōmokoroa interchange and cost $455m, is expected to be completed by 2027. In total, the two stages will cost $933m.
Webber said the funding was double of what was spent on building the $455m Tauranga Eastern Link.
"And all of the people that built that, many were local contractors. Others lived in motels, some bought houses here," Webber said.
Tauranga mayor Tenby Powell is welcoming the news that construction of the much anticipated Tauranga Northern Link will begin this year. Photo / File
"It all has an incredible benefit for the local economy. Given the doom and gloom .... here's something tangible that will start by Christmas time. This is not a Johnny-come-lately thing. This is a solid project. It will inject a lot of money into the local community."
Webber said the TNL, along with the TEL and planned Tauranga interchange, would help open up the region to the rest of the country.
"It really does make this, us, a significant export hub of New Zealand and really puts Tauranga and the Western Bay of Plenty on the map."
Tauranga mayor Tenby Powell said the region was highly sought-after as a place to live and work, and it was important to maintain this momentum.
"The inevitable population growth requires better strategic infrastructure and upgrading [of] SH2, and the construction of the new multi-modal TNL will unlock both economic and residential development in a manner which delivers safer travel options."
Fix the Bloody Road campaigner and Tauranga City Councillor Andrew Hollis was pleased but not holding his breath because "we've been here before".
"I'm hoping for the best but also preparing for the worst."
Fix the Bloody Road campaigner Andrew Hollis, pictured next to SH2. Photo / File
"It's one of those things that has to be done and delaying it another three years will only push the price up," Hollis said.
"Infrastructure is something our region is desperately lacking. We can't build [that road] with rates."
Hollis began the group more than two years ago to lobby authorities into making the stretch of SH2 safer. The group has 1800 members.
Regional Transport Committee chairman Lyall Thurston said the TNL would help make the roads safer, less congested and more sustainable.
The work will create a large number of jobs for the region which was much needed as the country recovers from Covid-19, he said.
Transport agency director of regional relationships Steve Mutton said the TNL was an exciting project and would provide safer, more resilient access between Tauranga and the Western Bay of Plenty as one of the country's highest growth areas.
"Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency recognises Bay of Plenty residents and businesses are passionate about the TNL and its role in the growth of the region.
Bay of Plenty Regional Council Transport Committee chair Lyall Thurston. Photo / Supplied
In January, Minister of Transport Phil Twyford confirmed funding for two-stages, which would "improve safety on a dangerous stretch of highway" as well as unlock more housing developments.
At the time, Tauranga MP and Opposition leader Simon Bridges said he did not believe the project was ever going to happen under a Labour Government.
The TNL had been in commercial tender in the middle of 2018 and ready for construction to begin by October 2018 "but Labout killed it".
Twyford said the Government never ruled out the TNL but rather, took it away and re-evaluated it.
Tauranga Northern Link, first stage
- New 6.8km four-lane corridor – managed lanes - Overbridge interchange at Minden Road - New bridge crossing Wairoa River, underpasses at Cambridge Road and Wairoa Road - New west-bound single lane connection from Fifteenth Avenue to Takitimu Drive Toll Road (Route K) - Separated pedestrian/cycling facility
