NZ Transport Agency Bay of Plenty Office

19 November 2010

Construction begins on Tauranga Eastern Link

The Bay of Plenty’s largest ever roading project has moved a step closer to reality with the official start of construction on the Tauranga Eastern Link.

Transport Minister Steven Joyce today marked the beginning of the five year construction programme by turning the first sod on site this morning in Papamoa.

NZTA Regional Director Harry Wilson says this morning’s sod turning marks a significant milestone in delivering a strategically vital new transport link for the region.

“The Bay of Plenty region needs the Tauranga Eastern Link. It will improve economic efficiency by reducing travel times, improve safety for road users, and provide employment and access for new development. This project will deliver real benefits to the region and to the country,” says Mr Wilson.

“The beginning of construction is an opportunity to acknowledge everyone who has contributed to getting this project to this point. This includes elected officials, planners, engineers as well as the tangata whenua and the public whose support has been vital in the early start of construction.

The four-lane Tauranga Eastern Link will run from Te Maunga (near Baypark Stadium) in Tauranga to the existing junction of State Highways 2 and 33 (the Rotorua and Whakatane highways) near Paengaroa. It will be made up of 17km of new road and an upgrade of six kilometres of existing highway. The project was tendered early this year and this month was awarded to a Fulton Hogan HEB Construction Alliance.

ENDS

© Scoop Media