Te Okuroa Drive extension in Pāpāmoa East delayed again

A recent aerial view of the construction work for stage D of Te Okuroa Drive in Pāpāmoa East. Photo Supplied / HEB Construction

Pāpāmoa residents are frustrated a key roading project will not be finished before summer as planned.

Construction of the stage D extension of Te Okuroa Drive to Livingstone Drive in Golden Sands started in January and was initially expected to finish in September, later pushed out to November because of asbestos removal.

Tauranga City Council project manager Richard Conning said construction of the $9.2 million stage D was now expected to finish towards the end of January.

He said extra time was needed to deal with some difficulties with the installation of underground utilities - power, gas, stormwater - along the two-lane stretch.

"We need to make sure we are getting it right, and that everything is fitting together."

The Christmas and New Year break was also a factor in the delay.

Conning said the next phase of work - Livingston Drive to Stevenson Drive - was scheduled to be done by June 2019.

Peter Powley, acting president of the Pāpāmoa Residents and Ratepayers Association, said the group was "extremely disappointed" the project had been delayed again.

He said members could hardly believe it when they heard the news in a recent meeting.

Pāpāmoa East was "the longest cul-de-sac in New Zealand", Powley said, and Pāpāmoa Beach Rd was the only way out.

Association secretary Rosemary Turley said it was especially frustrating the work would not be done before summer holidaymakers started arriving, swelling Pāpāmoa's population.

The stage D extension will give residents of the rapidly growing Golden Sands and Palm Springs subdivisions an alternative to Pāpāmoa Beach Rd to access the Tauranga Eastern Link.

Papamoa roading updates

Te Okuroa Drive

• Extends east from the intersection of Tara Rd and Parton Rd
• Stages A, B and C off Parton Rd complete
• Stage D to Livingstone Drive due to finish end of January 2019
• Next phase - Livingston Drive to Stevenson Drive - due for completion June 2019
• Will be extended to the planned Pāpāmoa East Interchange.

Pāpāmoa East Interchange

• Grade separated Pāpāmoa East connection to the Tauranga Eastern Link
• Project brought forward five years from 2025
• Will service planned future Wairakei town centre at Te Tumu
• Early designs for interchange expected to be done by September 2018
• Safety audit to be done before detailed design work can start
• Nearby park and ride facility being investigated
• Aim to start construction in 2020
• NZTA proposes to toll access to Tauranga Eastern Link.

Source: Tauranga City Council