Tauranga Eastern Link

Key features of the new highway

• Four lanes, two in each direction, providing a safer and more direct route between Tauranga to Paengaroa.

• Central median barrier.
• New intersections for Sandhurst Drive, Domain Road and Paengaroa junction (SH2/33).
• New overbridge for Parton and underpass for Maketu Roads.
• Urban design incorporating extensive landscaping.
• Electronic free-flow tolling system.

• Planning for the future and addressing the need to manage growth, ensure economic development and traffic safety issues for the region are key objectives for building the Tauranga Eastern Link.

  Western Bay of Plenty 

  As the population continues to grow, this will increase pressure on existing infrastructure.

  The key drivers of this growth will be increasing use of the Port of Tauranga, New Zealand’s largest port, and the development of new residential, commercial and industrial land to the east of the city.

  • One of New Zealand’s fastest growing residential areas.
  • Population is expected to double over the next 30 years to 286,000.
  • By 2051 Papamoa East is predicted to be a city the size of Nelson with 40,000 people and the total population of the eastern corridor itself will be upwards of 60,000.
  • Set to become the fourth or fifth most populated region in New Zealand.

• Tauranga Eastern Link begins at Te Maunga (near Baypark Stadium) in Tauranga and follows its existing route to the Domain Road intersection with State Highway 2 at Papamoa. It then leaves the current state highway route and crosses rural land parallel to Tara Road, across Parton Road and along the sandhills to the Kaituna River at the end of Bell Road. At this point the highway crosses the river and carries on past the Kaituna Wildlife Management Reserve. It heads south east across dairy farms and orchard lots before rising up over the railway line to join the existing junction of State Highways 2 and 33 (the Rotorua and Whakatane highways) near Paengaroa.

    each direction, providing a safer and more direct route between Tauranga to Paengaroa.
• Central median barrier.
• New intersections for Sandhurst Drive, Domain Road and Paengaroa junction (SH2/33).
• New overbridge for Parton and underpass for Maketu Roads.
• Urban design incorporating extensive landscaping.
• Electronic free-flow tolling system.