Four lanes of State Highway 30A had reopened on Tuesday morning after backlash over traffic chaos caused by roadworks on Monday. Photo / Ben Fraser
Roadworks that brought Rotorua to a standstill on Monday have now been postponed until next year.
It comes after a dressing-down for the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) from Rotorua’s MP and mayor over the impact SH30A’s closure had on businesses, schools, medical providers and general road users.
NZTA had closed all four lanes of SH30A between Te Ngae Rd and Fenton St for resurfacing.
However, after extreme levels of congestion occurred on the city’s eastside, the road was partially reopened on Monday afternoon.
In a statement today NZTA apologised for the disruption caused and confirmed it would rethink its approach.
“We have now made the decision to postpone the SH30A work until 2026,” NZTA system manager for the Bay of Plenty Sandra King said.
While a full closure was set to speed up the process, NZTA now needed time to reconsider its approach, King said.
“This, along with the wet long-range weather forecast for the remainder of November, means there isn’t enough time to complete the work ahead of the Christmas shutdown period,” King said.
Crews would return to the site from 8pm Thursday to 5am Friday to restore the road surface to its original level.
King said the work remained a “priority” for 2026 to prevent pavement failures but the method may change to allow the flow of traffic through the site.
“Using a different construction methodology will mean the overall timeframe will take longer but will minimise overall delays to people’s daily travel,” King said.
Rotorua MP Todd McClay wrote a scathing letter to NZTA chief executive Brett Gliddon on Monday saying his office was “inundated” with complaints.
He said the full closure was “clearly unsustainable and unacceptable”.
Speaking to Local Democracy Reporting, McClay said NZTA had “let Rotorua and themselves down”.
“I have requested an immediate review of the traffic management plan and the urgent implementation of measures to restore acceptable levels of access – whether through staged works, extended working hours, or partial reopening during peak periods,” McClay said.
“The road does need an upgrade but it is a very poor decision to close both sides of the road fully at the same time.”
NZTA has said a full road closure was chosen as it provided the “quickest and safest” way to complete the work, considering the “large volumes of machinery and equipment” needed.
Transport Minister Chris Bishop was approached for comment but deferred to NZTA for a response, as this was “an operational matter”.
Following Monday’s traffic gridlock issues, NZTA advised it would work “closely” with the Rotorua Lakes Council on plans.
Rotorua Mayor Tania Tapsellintervened on Monday as the city ground to a halt. She hoped NZTA would “come back with better alternatives” for how to complete the works.
The full impact of Monday’s gridlock is now coming to light, with businesses, schools and medical centres affected.
Radiology service Canopy Imaging had several staff arrive late, while some patients missed appointments.
“It was very challenging for us, and the impact to our community and our patients was really high,” service manager Debbie Cartwright said.
Rebooking patients was “extremely difficult” due to already long waiting lists.
Upcoming patients based in the west of the city were called in to free up later appointments for those who couldn’t make it.
The centre was running a breast symptomatic clinic, which meant delays caused “a lot of stress” for those who were late.
The postponement of roadworks was a relief, Cartwright said.
“Hopefully it’s not like that again.”
A spokesperson for Pak’nSave Rotorua said they had appreciated NZTA’s advance notice of this week’s work, but the traffic issues on Monday placed “unnecessary strain” on local businesses.
“Some of our team members spent three hours travelling to work on what is normally a 15-minute trip,” they said.
“One of our visiting support team even walked the final few kilometres from the airport because it was faster than remaining in the traffic.”
Rotorua Boys’ High School principal John Kendal said the school was fortunate to only have one student who missed exams due to the delays.
Several staff members were caught in delays despite email and Facebook communications to allow extra travel time.
“We were caught off-guard,” Kendal said.
Rotorua Girls’ High School principal Sarah Davis said three students nearly missed exams and six staff members were two hours late.
“We had several phone calls from very stressed whānau trying to get their girls to school and exams on time,” Davis said.
Mathew Nash is a Local Democracy Reporting journalist based at the Rotorua Daily Post. He has previously written for SunLive, been a regular contributor to RNZ and was a football reporter in the UK for eight years.
– LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.