Tauranga roadworks: Cameron Rd and 15th Ave upgrades to overlap

The project involves four-laning 15th Ave and adding a third lane to Turret Rd over the Harini Bridge, as well as a new shared pathway.

The projects are expected to disrupt traffic on two arterial routes into the central city and will overlap between 2028 and 2029.

Tauranga City Council major projects infrastructure portfolio manager Chris Barton told Local Democracy Reporting the council planned to deliver both projects in a way that “puts the community first”.

“Safety, well-managed sites and clear communication are top priorities.

“The two projects will be carefully planned and timed to reduce disruption as much as possible and keep roads safe and accessible.”

He said the team aimed to avoid unnecessary traffic delays by coordinating work schedules, traffic management and detours.

Providing regular updates, engaging early with affected communities and responding quickly to issues, would hopefully mean no surprises along the way.

Community feedback on the concept plan for Cameron Rd has just been collected, and there would be more community engagement on 15th Ave to Welcome Bay this year.

Barton said his team would use the more than 12 months before construction started to refine the plans to minimise construction.

Businesses, especially, were highly critical of the $110m stage one Cameron Rd project, which addressed the northern end.

Some claimed they lost revenue and foot traffic, and one said the cones outside made it feel like being “in jail”.

Outfits moved or closed, and one threatened legal action over alleged lost property value.

Council commission chairwoman Anne Tolley later said the council “didn’t get it right”.

To avoid repeating the “failure” of stage one, Barton assured the council was taking all possible steps to plan well in advance.

The current concept design includes four-laning the southern end of Cameron Road, from 17th Ave near Tauranga Hospital to Maleme St by the Tauranga Racecourse.

There would be separate on-road cycle lanes, with shared paths for walking and cycling where there is limited space.

The outside traffic lanes would be high occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes, for vehicles with at least two or three occupants, in peak periods.

Initially, the lanes could still be used for parking off-peak, but this could change in the long-term if they became full-time HOV lanes.

In some areas, parking will be reduced or only available at specific times. There are 342 on-street parks in the area, of which up to 66 could be removed permanently.

Multiple options are proposed for Greerton Village, with either two lanes or four lanes of traffic, and traffic signals or roundabouts at the Chadwick Rd and Cornwall St intersections.

Barton said the work was intended to cater for an expected 5800 new homes in the area over the next 30 years, and support extensive development in the west of the city.

He said the council had taken on board the many lessons learned from independent reviews of Cameron Rd stage one, which happened before his time in the role.

The council was looking to make stage two “a lot less impactful” by reutilising existing road pavement and working on it one section at a time.

Barton said they would aim to find a balance between minimising disruption for commuters and adjacent residents and businesses.

The goal was to plan well, “so that when we do get in there, we can get in and get out as quickly as we can”.

They would aim to ensure there were not highly impactful works on Cameron Rd and 15th Ave/Welcome Bay at the same time.

“That’ll be part of the detailed planning.”

Community engagement on the Cameron Rd concept plan closed on May 15. Feedback will be reported to the City Future Committee and would inform the final design.

The detailed design was due in 2027 with construction starting the following year.

The council has described the $98.8m transport portion of the project as a “revised, value for money option”, after the NZ Transport Agency declined to fund it in the 2024-27 National Land Transport Programme.

The roading project would be funded by an Infrastructure Acceleration grant from the Government, the council’s infrastructure funding and financing levy – of which ratepayers have contributed about $20m – and developer contributions.

NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi would build a new interchange near Barkes Corner as part of the Tauriko West Road of National Significance project to provide safe and efficient access across State Highway 29A.

St John Hato Hone Western Bay of Plenty operations manager Mat Delaney said St John was looking forward to the long-term improvement of the major route, particularly the extra lanes.

The organisation would work with contractors during development to limit potential delays for ambulances and plan alternative routes.

Owner of early childhood centre The Garden, Mornay Jacobs, said their street was proposed to become a cul-de-sac, with no access from Cameron Rd.

He said it was an issue because many of the preschool’s families come from Greerton and turn right off Cameron Rd into Kauri St to access the centre.

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“It’s not a massive detour … but it does make a difference timewise in the morning when parents are dropping their children off."

Greerton Social Club owner Romeo Kandel was concerned about the loss of parking in the area.

“Apart from that, we’ve got no troubles.”

Smith & Boyle automotive body repair shop owner Mike Stanwell said he was also worried about parking.

“Fortunately, we rent some land next door to us … I’ve had to do that just to accommodate my staff vehicles, so it keeps them off Cameron Rd.

“That’s a cost to me, but I’ve had to do it.”

– LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.

Ayla Yeoman is a Local Democracy Reporting journalist based in Tauranga. She holds a Bachelor of Arts majoring in communications, politics and international relations from the University of Auckland, and has been a journalist since 2022.