5 March 2014

Traffic now using new section of State Highway 33 near Paengaroa

Drivers of State Highway 33, between Paengaroa and Rotorua, would have noticed that they are now travelling on the new section of road at Pareteiro. For the last 16 months this section of road has been undergoing major safety improvement works.

This $3.6 million realignment project, known as the Sun Valley Curves realignment, started in early November 2012 and is expected to be fully completed by April, says the NZ Transport Agency.

Transport Agency Highways manager Brett Gliddon says the road was realigned to remove the tight bends at this location.

“We have constructed a new, straighter road, and added in a south bound (towards Rotorua) passing lane to make it safer for drivers.”

Mr Gliddon says the work to construct this section of road has been challenging due to the terrain and keeping traffic moving.

“There was plenty of rain during the course of construction and the type of soil in this area made the ground conditions quite difficult to work with; we also had to manage traffic on what is a very busy road throughout the construction process.”

He says the old section of road will be re-vegetated.

The Rotorua District Council has been managing the project for the Transport Agency as its project partner for the Rotorua area.

For more information please visit www.nzta.govt.nz

ENDS

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