Te Puke Highway roadworks start this month – expect delays

Preparations are underway for resealing roadworks on Te Puke Highway, starting this month and expected to be completed before Christmas.

Western Bay of Plenty District Council is undertaking a resealing programme along five stretches of Te Puke Highway from the Long Swamp through to the Maketu/SH2 intersection. The work will include a rip and remake of a section of the Long Swamp.

Temporary speed warning signs are being placed in a number of locations along Te Puke Highway this week advising motorists of slippery conditions in wet weather and to reduce speed from 100km/h to 70km/h until the resealing.

Council’s Transportation Manager Jim Paterson says some sections of the highway have deteriorated in the five years since the road was revoked from its state highway status and returned to Council ownership as a local road, following the completion of the Tauranga Eastern Link.

“During the resealing programme, traffic safety management will be in place and motorists can expect delays in travel time.

“There will be stop/go traffic management in place at various times for the sealing and surface rip and remake. Although the resealing can be completed on any one site in one day, the traffic management for that site can be up to four days while the road is swept and remarked,” says Jim.

The lengths of road temporarily changing speed from 100km/h to 70km/h are: Long Swamp; Manoeka Corner; Pah Road Corner, Affco Straight and Seeka Corner.

These speed variations are specifically for this work programme on Te Puke Highway and have nothing to do with the current review of speed limits being done by Council.