Te Puna to Ōmokoroa

Almost half a billion dollars is being spent on State Highway 2 (SH2) from Te Puna to Ōmokoroa to support urban and economic growth to the north of Tauranga and help save lives. This new four-lane corridor is an extension of the Tauranga Northern Link, responding to growth which now extends to Ōmokoroa.

The NZ Upgrade Programme will spend $455 million on a new 7km, fourlane corridor to carry two lanes of general traffic and provide two dedicated lanes for bus priority, freight and vehicles carrying multiple people. This project includes a separated shared path for walking and cycling that runs along the entire length.

An interchange overbridge with ramps in each direction will be built at the intersection with Ōmokoroa Road. Other overbridges will take local traffic over the highway helping improve safety at Plummers Point Road / Barrett Road and Snodgrass Road / Te Puna Quarry Road.

Western Bay of Plenty is one of the fastest growing regions in New Zealand. It is already home to 190,000 people, with an additional 70,000 expected to make it their home in the next 50 years.

SH2 once passed through a few rural settlements. It is now a busy commuter, agribusiness and regional freight route, as well as tourist link between Bay of Plenty and the Coromandel Peninsula, with a poor safety record. The current $100 million safety improvements along the existing SH2 corridor will continue as this road will remain in use and an integral part of the region’s future transport system.

The new highway will provide a safer, alternative route with better access to Tauranga Port and is expected to reduce deaths and serious injuries by 85%.

With almost 90% of all journeys to work in Tauranga taken by private car, it is critical residents have better access to safe, reliable and efficient travel options, such as public transport and walking and cycling, to change the way they move about the region.

Construction is expected to get underway late 2023.