More highway holdups

Stage Two of the Tākitimu North Link from Te Puna to Ōmokoroa has been put on the back burner for three to ten years, with the bombshell news coming just days after confirmation that Stage One of the project is still due to begin later this year.

A joint news release from Minister for Infrastructure Grant Robertson and Minister of Transport Michael Wood on Friday 4th June says the 7km TNL extension from Te Puna to Ōmokoroa remains a ‘protected route’ for the future.

However, TNL Stage Two construction now depends on how funding is allocated in the National Land Transport Programme. This definitely won’t occur within the next three years and is described as ‘unlikely’ within the next ten years.

TNL Stage One, a 6.8km four-lane expressway between Tauranga and Te Puna is now subject to property negotiations. Design and preparatory activities are underway and the construction contract has recently been awarded to Fulton Hogan and HEB.

The big question is whether any interim improvements will be made to any of the State Highway 2 intersections, particularly at the boom town of Ōmokoroa where a newly consented town centre, a separate retail village and a high school are expected.

Last month’s funding announcement for the government’s NZ Upgrade programme says 26 out of 32 projects go ahead unchanged around the country, supporting more than a thousand jobs, with 13 of those projects now underway.

News of the Stage Two decision was released as the Bay of Plenty Regional Council’s draft Regional Land Transport Plan 2021-2031 was being finalised. The timing left local politicians with a near impossible task to reprioritise their strategic wishlist in a meaningful way.