Covered road signs near the intersection of the Pāpāmoa East Interchange. Photo / Kelly O'Hara
A second tolling point will be added to the Tauranga Eastern Link, the Government has confirmed.
It will be established near the new Pāpāmoa East Interchange, which will open next week after four years of construction.
The interchange will connect Te Okuroa Drive to the Tauranga Eastern Link/State Highway 2 (TEL) toll road.
The TEL has one tolling gantry at the eastern end, and yesterday the Government and NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) confirmed a second would be added between Domain Rd and the new interchange.
The decision was made despite consultation showing “low levels” of public support.
A toll-free period would continue for users until late 2026.
From then, motorists travelling the shorter section between Domain Rd and Pāpāmoa East will pay $1.10 for light vehicles and $2.80 for heavy vehicles.
Motorists travelling the full length of the TEL, or between the new interchange and Paengaroa, will pay the existing rates of $2.30 for light vehicles and $5.60 for heavy vehicles.
Bay of Plenty MP Tom Rutherford said tolling remained a concern for some people.
“I understand many residents have views on the tolling changes, and I thank those who submitted during the public consultation last year.
“As the local MP, I will continue to closely monitor the impact on Pāpāmoa families and businesses, and I will keep advocating for outcomes that work best for our growing community.”
Rutherford said the new interchange was a major step forward for Pāpāmoa and the wider Bay of Plenty.
“It will ease congestion on Domain Rd, Tara Rd and surrounding streets, improve connectivity to Tauranga, and support future growth in Golden Sands, Te Tumu and Wairākei.”
He said this was the kind of practical infrastructure the community had been waiting for.
Public consultation on the toll proposal closed in August last year.
Concerns raised publicly included that Tauranga already had two of New Zealand’s three toll roads, while new roads had opened elsewhere in the country without tolls.
In an update posted online yesterday, NZTA said 3429 submissions were received from the public and stakeholders, showing “low levels of support for the proposal”.
The NZTA board considered community feedback and recommended introducing the second toll point.
The Minister of Transport accepted the recommendation, and the decision was approved by the Cabinet, it said.
NZTA regional system design manager Susan Collins previously told Local Democracy Reporting, in response to criticism of the proposal, that tolling had been used in Tauranga to bring forward the construction of new roads.
This supported accelerated growth and economic productivity with the TEL and State Highway 29 Takitimu Drive.
“The Tauranga Eastern Link Toll Road is a vital transport link in the Bay of Plenty, providing a safer, more efficient and reliable route.
“Tolling is a user-pays option bringing efficiency, safety and resiliency benefits to the transport network.”
She said there were free and viable alternative routes if travellers did not want to pay the toll.
“The Government Policy Statement on land transport 2024 sets the expectation for NZTA to consider tolling to support the construction and maintenance of all new roads.”
She said tolling provided an opportunity for an additional source of revenue to support major infrastructure projects, as the National Land Transport Fund was under increasing pressure to fund transport improvements and increasing road maintenance costs across the country.
Since the $455m TEL opened in 2015, about $79m in toll revenue has been collected, with $53m going towards debt and interest repayments, and the rest to operational costs, according to NZTA data to mid-2025.
– LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.
Ayla Yeoman is a Local Democracy Reporting journalist based in Tauranga. She holds a Bachelor of Arts majoring in communications, politics and international relations from the University of Auckland, and has been a journalist since 2022.