One of Te Puke’s busy roads will get a partial reconstruction to improve safety and make it more user-friendly.
Western Bay of Plenty District Council’s Projects and Monitoring Committee has agreed to spend $3.2 million, over two years, on No.1 Road. The work will include rehabilitating and widening two of the middle sections of the road.
Currently, parts of the road are too narrow for the volume and type of traffic. There are also sections where the road has reached the end of its life, causing problems for heavy vehicles using the road to access horticultural businesses.
So, maintenance is not going to be enough.
“We know that our Te Puke community are unhappy with the condition of this road and the safety risks it brings, and so are we,” says Council’s General Manager Infrastructure Group Cedric Crow.
“Widening it and redoing the parts that have reached the end of their life will be very beneficial for those who use No. 1 Road.”
Earlier this year, Council completed six weeks of works on the road to ‘hold’ the pavement over winter. This included heavy patching - digging up the uneven surfaces and laying asphalt – to improve safety and maintain the road as best as possible in the short term.
Initial plans were to rehabilitate the lower section of No. 1 Road in 2019 but decided to postpone the works until after Tauranga City Council had constructed the Waiari trunk watermain. The watermain project was completed in 2020.
Councillors also approved work to lower the road at the intersection with Cannell Farm Drive, in preparation for future extension works to join the two.
The widening of the remaining three sections of road and the creation of a separate 3m shared pathway will be revisited after the rehabilitation works.
In June Council applied for funding from Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency to subsidise the shared pathway but this was declined because there are currently inadequate funds available from the National Land Transport Fund, although funding may be available in the future.
“If we were to proceed with the full programme of work right now for No.1 Road, we’d have a funding gap of at least 50 percent,” adds Cedric.
“The shared pathway is still a priority for Council. We know having transport options like walking or cycling is important to our community as well, so the implementation of this pathway will be considered in the future.”
Works are expected to begin this summer.
