Tauranga school holiday traffic delays caused by road closure in Poike, council says

Traffic delays across Tauranga yesterday afternoon have been blamed on motorists not being aware of a road closure in Poike.

There was plenty of congestion throughout the city yesterday evening, with one Bay of Plenty Times reporter’s usual 15-minute drive home taking 90 minutes. Fraser St was gridlocked throughout Parkvale and Greerton.

Tauranga City Council senior area roading engineer Richard Joyes says the congestion drivers experienced was due to Poike Rd being closed.

The council warned last week that delays should be expected for residents and commuters in the Poike and Ohauiti area between yesterday and Tuesday next week while Poike Rd was closed for essential work on the water truck main pipeline.

Poike Rd has been fully closed at selected times with detours in place and work scheduled during the school holidays to reduce traffic disruption.

“The highway end of the road is open from 6am to 9am for vehicles exiting left out of Hollister Lane and again from 4pm to 6pm for afternoon peak traffic wanting to access Hollister Lane,” Joyes told the Bay of Plenty Times in a statement.

“This was not clear on our roadside signage yesterday and has been adjusted today to make it clearer for drivers. We apologise for any confusion.”

Affected residents were given details about the closure, peak time access and detour routes in March and Joyes said other communication channels such as radio, newsletters and social media were used to advise the community.

He said there was some congestion on Ohauiti Rd today around mid-morning due to the Poike Rd closure but it had cleared by late morning.

“We expect that the updated roadside signage will help ease congestion at peak time today.”

The water trunk main pipeline under Poike Rd needs to be strengthened before an important retaining wall opposite the corner of Hollister Lane and Poike Rd can be replaced.

Construction of the retaining wall will likely start at the end of this month and will include a one-lane closure of Poike Rd. More information will be made available closer to the time.

Two worksites are on Poike Rd on either side of Hollister Lane.

The road is completely closed to right-turning traffic out of Hollister Lane outside 107 Poike Rd.

Left-turning traffic has limited one-lane access from 6am-9am. Vehicles wanting to turn right into Hollister Lane from Poike Rd will have limited one-lane access again from 4pm-6pm.

Limited vehicle access

• Morning peak flow is only for vehicles turning left out of Hollister Lane onto Poike Rd. This traffic lane will be open at peak times from 6am-9am.
• Afternoon peak traffic is only for vehicles from Poike Rd entering right into Hollister Lane. This is from 4pm-6pm.
• The road will be fully closed between 9am and 4pm and again between 6pm and 6am.
• The road will be completely closed to right-turning traffic out of Hollister Lane outside 107 Poike Rd.
• All bus stops on Poike Rd and three stops on Hollister Lane will be closed while the road closure is in place. Temporary stops will be in place on Harrisfield Drive. Baybus will be running an additional shuttle bus service from Windermere Drive to Hollister Lane.
• There will still be full pedestrian/cyclist access around both work sites, via the pedestrian footpath. Please follow all signage and any instructions from work staff onsite.