Stage 2 of NZ Transport Agency's Harbour Link project was officially opened on December 18, 2009, three months early and under budget. It has taken seven months to cross the Tauranga Harbour to the Mount causeway. Both bridges are now being used.
Completed Bridge, November 2009 |
This project provides a duplicate harbour bridge for Tauranga and four lane travel between Tauranga and Mount Maunganui.
Construction of Stage 1 - the four-laning of Hewletts Road from Jean Batten Drive to the old toll plaza on the Harbour Bridge causeway was completed in September 2007.
Stage 2 - the new Harbour Bridge and flyover - has been constructed by The Fletcher Construction Company Ltd at a cost of $130.8 million. Physical construction of the bridge project began in August 2007 with pile driving, and the spans touched down on the Mount side in early May 2009. The public were able to walk across the bridge on Sunday, September 6 before it opened to traffic. Traffic moved onto the new bridge the following day while the existing bridge closed for maintenance. The new bridge takes traffic from Tauranga to Mt Maunganui and the old bridge takes traffic from the Mount to Tauranga City.
Unveiling the plaque |
Stage 2 of the project included:
• four-laning the rest of the Harbour Bridge causeway,
• construction of a duplicate Harbour Bridge alongside the existing bridge,
• construction of a four-lane flyover from the Harbour Bridge to Takitimu Drive, bypassing the current traffic bottleneck in the Chapel Street/Marsh Street area.
Tauranga City Council and the NZ Transport Agency (formerly Transit) have worked together to complete the consenting, designation and design phase of the project. The whole central corridor, from Takitimu Drive to Maunganui Road, is now state highway, with NZTA taking responsibility for development and maintenance. Fifteenth Ave/Turret Road became a local road managed by Tauranga City once the new Harbour Link project opened.
Hewletts Rd completed |
Cost
Total funding for the entire Harbour Link project was approximately $255 million. Harbour Link was funded half through a Crown grant and the other half through the National Land Transport Fund administered by Land Transport New Zealand. The Crown grant was made as a result of the agreement reached with New Zealand First following the 2005 General Election.
A detailed plan shows new road connections to the flyover between Takitimu Drive and the Harbour Bridge. View the plan.
Design
The Harbour Link project includes new bus lanes on Hewletts Road, and significant improvements to provide safer and more scenic access for cyclists and walkers. A wider shared cycle and walkway has been constructed, separated from traffic by safety barriers which connect with existing cycle and walkways on either side of the harbour. These facilities have been developed after extensive consultation with local user groups, including Cycle Action Tauranga.
Schools
Secondary school students can research the planning and consents processes for this project by accessing our Schools page.
Find out more about this project on NZ Transport Agency's Harbour Link website.
Photographs
See photographs of progress on Harbour Link in the Gallery.
