Three in hospital after crashes over weekend in Bay of Plenty near Tauranga

Three people remain in hospital following a series of serious crashes in Tauranga over the weekend.

One person was killed and seven others injured in four crashes across the city.

A 54-year-old woman and 60-year-old man, both from Auckland, were stable in a ward at Tauranga Hospital following a crash on State Highway 2 just before the Wairoa Bridge at 4pm on Sunday.

A 73-year-old man from Waihi was treated and discharged.

A 22-year-old Tauranga woman was in hospital in a stable condition following a crash on State Highway 36, between Keenan Rd and Merrick Rd, in which a car rolled at 4.30am on Saturday.

A 30-year-old Auckland man was discharged from hospital after suffering serious injuries in a head-on crash on SH2, near Aongatete, between Thompsons Track and Walker Rd West at 1.47pm on Sunday.

A man was killed in a motorcycle accident at Tauriko, near the intersection of Sycamore Rise and Cambridge Rd, at 4.30am on Sunday.

Traffic was backed up on SH2 following crashes on the state highway on Sunday. Photo / George Novak

Fix The Bloody Road campaigner Andrew Hollis said the two crashes on SH2 shut down the state highway for most of Sunday afternoon.

"It seems nonsensical that Tauranga couldn't be accessed in the event of a crash," he said.

Hollis said it was once again horrific for the community to hear two serious crashes happened on the dreaded stretch of SH2.

"It is the same angst and that same fear that somebody in the community has been involved," he said.

One person was seriously injured after a crash on SH2, near Aongatete. Photo / George Novak

Lisa Swain said it was an "awful" weekend for the SH2 community.

"The sirens started at 2pm and didn't stop until gone 4pm," said Swain, who works at The Cats Whiskers cattery on Wairoa Rd.

"We often hear the skidding of people taking the corners too fast as they are not used to using this road."

She was concerned for those injured in the crashes, which also affected businesses on the stretch.

Many of her customers were late coming to pick up or drop off their cats after getting stuck in the traffic, she said.

Motorist John Middleton stopped to play a round of golf to avoid sitting in the traffic on his way home to Tauranga from Whangamata about 1.30pm.

Middleton said he now understood the frustrations expressed by the Fix the Bloody Road campaigners.

In October the New Zealand Transport Agency confirmed it would build a two-lane Tauranga Northern Link between Tauranga and Te Puna.

The agency was also working on planned safety improvements on SH2 between Waihi and Te Puna, one of New Zealand's deadliest stretches of highway.

The agency's board met in December to consider next steps, however, there was more work to be done.

The agency expected to make announcements on any decisions in the coming months.

Western Bay of Plenty mayor Garry Webber said it was disappointing to still be waiting to hear what Government decisions had been made regarding fixing State Highway 2.

"It is an ongoing saga," he said.

"The deaths, injuries and frustration for families continue. We are desperate for some sort of indication from the powers that be."