Tauranga’s new roading project: Tauriko West upgrade set for tolls from 2028

An artist's impression of what the new intersection with State Highway 29, featuring traffic lights, will look like. Image / NZTA

• The Tauriko West project will likely be tolled from 2028, Transport Minister Chris Bishop said.
• The project includes a new four-lane highway and widening of State Highway 29A.
• It aims to support economic growth, improve travel times, and enable 30,000 new houses by 2063.

It is almost certain the new Tauriko West highway will be tolled when it reaches phase two in 2028, Transport Minister Chris Bishop said.

The $2.8 billion to $3.3b project announced this week includes a new four-lane highway between Redwood Lane in Lower Kaimāī, joining Takitimu Toll Rd (formerly Route K), and encompassing the under-construction Takitimu Northern Link interchange that connects to 15th Ave.

That new road will become State Highway 29, with a 110km/h speed limit, and the existing stretch of SH29 through Tauriko Village will become a local road.

The project also includes widening SH29a between the Tauriko/The Lakes roundabout and the Barkes Corner roundabout.

Bishop told the Bay of Plenty Times at the project’s announcement on Tuesday that “the reality is roads have to be paid for”.

There was no timeframe for how long the road would be tolled or confirmation on the price of tolls. Bishop said ongoing costs such as maintenance “need to be paid for somehow”.

Transport Minister Chris Bishop.

“Sometimes people think you build a road, and then it’s just open, and then there’s no ongoing cost.”

New tolls brought investment into the region that might be delayed or deferred until later, but exact tolling would be decided further down the track.

“It’s quite a complex formula.

“[The] Western Bay of Plenty is growing strongly, and the Government is committed to unlocking its potential.”

Bishop said the new road would support economic growth, increase productivity and connectivity to the Bay of Plenty, and boost housing and commercial development.

He named the Tauriko Business Estate extension and the potential development of 30,000 new houses by 2063 as examples.

“Other benefits of the project include a 40% improvement in travel time reliability, a 13-minute reduction on SH29 and a six-minute reduction on SH29A, and a projected 50% reduction in deaths and serious injuries.

“That indicates that is a strong economic case in of all this,” Bishop said.

“For every dollar that is invested, there’s a benefit of $1.70 beyond the dollar that’s invested.”

SH29 and SH29A were part of the inter-regional and freight connections between Auckland, Waikato and Bay of Plenty, and Bishop said they were essential for growth and prosperity in the upper North Island.

Chris Bishop discusses the plan for the new highway project.

The project had four phases: replacing the Ōmanawa Bridge and improving nearby intersections; protecting future routes through designation and land acquisition; constructing the new four-lane SH29 to connect with Takitimu North Link; and widening SH29A with a new interchange at Barkes Corner – pending funding.

“You can’t do everything all at once,” Bishop said.

Tauranga bore the brunt of most of the toll roads around New Zealand but Bishop said this was likely to change.

Other new toll roads would include Penlink in Auckland and the Ōtaki to the north of Levin highway.

Tauranga City councillor Marten Rozeboom.

Tauranga City councillor Marten Rozeboom said the new road and future residential development would allow Tauranga residents to live closer to their jobs.

People travelling to work in the mornings and afternoons clogged up SH29, Rozeboom said.

“If we can get this cleaned up and get this side moving, get houses built here, people can then decide, ‘do I want to put up with the commute, or do I want to build closer to work?’

“It is just about giving people options.”

Boerewors NZ owner-operator Elizabeth Smith said she had not been concerned by any of the construction along SH29 so far despite a related loss of power to her Tauriko Village business a few days ago.

A new traffic light along the highway would also make it easier for traffic to turn into the boerewors and biltong shop, she said.

“But we’ll have to wait and see until that happens.”

From Tuesday there will be a stop/go operation and temporary speed limit of 30km/h for night works to install safety barriers along the northern side of SH29 in Tauriko Village.

“As long as people can get to us, that should be fine,” Smith said.

Tauriko School principal Suzanne Billington. Photo / George Novak

Tauriko School principal Suzanne Billington said the school was “absolutely surrounded by roading and construction”.

NZTA had built a new entranceway and rear carpark, Billington said.

“We expect to be able to use it at the beginning of next week.”

The development would eventually force Tauriko School out of its current location, Billington said.

“But there’s been no decision made about when.”