Local business owners and residents say “major” roadworks at the intersection of Te Ngae Rd and State Highways 30 and 33 have doubled travel times and affected access to their premises.
Works to install a new roundabout at the busy Whakatāne turnoff and a new right turn bay for SH30 traffic turning into Rangiteaorere Rd began in September. The project was estimated to cost about $6.4 million.
Te Rerehau farm stay owner John Short has been living on State Highway 30 for 30 years.
Short said on Wednesday morning he arrived at the stop-go signal at the intersection of SH30 and SH33 at 7.15am but wasn’t able to turn onto Te Ngae Rd until 7.30am.
“And that was a pretty good run,” the 80-year-old told the Rotorua Daily Post.
“If I’m going to town I have to add 20 mins of extra travel time. [The roadworks] could sometimes double travel time, depending on the time of day.”
Short said in his 30 years of living in the area he had watched traffic numbers increase. While he himself had not “had any incidents” at the intersection he believed a roundabout would “take the guesswork out of” turning onto or off of Te Ngae Rd.
Wonderworld Amazement Park owner Chris Callander said the roadworks had caused traffic jams that lasted for half an hour.
“It has been quite major.”
Callander said the traffic did affect visitors’ access to his business.
“I’d say there would be people who turn around and give up before they can make it to Wonderworld.”
Callander said the roadwork cones line the area around the entrance to his business.
“It can make it difficult to turn in.”
Callander said he hoped the roadworks could be completed before the busy summer season.
“It will be good for us once it’s all done,” Callander said.
“In the long term, it would be great for people to have a U-turn option at the roundabout there.”
Rotorua Airport chief executive Nicole Brewer said airport staff and customers had been affected by roadworks in the same way as other road users.
“I am not aware it has caused significant problems for customers,” Brewer said.
“As with all road travel please plan ahead and ensure you have sufficient time to get to the airport.”
Waka Kotahi’s Bay of Plenty system manager Roger Brady said the agency had implemented design changes to pavement works on SH30 aimed at making the construction time shorter and reducing the number of days traffic management was required.
“This has been one of the wettest construction seasons on record. Our contractors have mitigated the delays by focussing their efforts on areas where they could still be productive, but there have been 45 days since August 2022 where no productive work could be carried out.”
Brady said the project was expected to be complete in late September 2023.
“Road users have been advised to expect delays of up to 30 minutes in peak time,” Brady said.
“However some drivers travelling from the east experienced extended delays over the weekend. The delays were exacerbated by automated lights, which we have now replaced with manual traffic control between 6.30am and 9am then again from 2.30pm until the peak hour traffic has passed.”
Brady said Waka Kotahi recognised the frustration road works caused.
“But we remind road users to please respect our roadworkers.”
Maryana Garcia is a regional reporter writing for the Rotorua Daily Post and the Bay of Plenty Times. She covers local issues, health and crime. @mggarciawrites