Bayfair Flyover to open next week

The new State Highway 2 Bayfair flyover will open overnight Wednesday 26 April in time for Thursday morning traffic.

The flyover will open in a temporary configuration and take traffic over the Bayfair roundabout, making it a safer journey for everyone by separating local and state highway traffic. The traffic switch and work leading up to it are weather dependent. 

Opening the flyover to traffic means significant changes for everyone and will require drivers to make an early selection of the route they will take depending on their destination. 

Drivers should ‘stay low for local’ if they wish to access Girven Road, Matapihi Road and local businesses, and to use the new flyover over the roundabout if travelling to and from SH2/Tauranga Eastern Link (TEL), Pāpāmoa, SH29A, Maungatapu, Welcome Bay, the Mount, the port or the city centre. 

The flyover will open under temporary traffic management and with a temporary speed limit of 50km/h, and people are asked to take extra care when travelling through the area while everyone gets used to the new layout, especially during morning and evening peak times. 

Road and lane closures 

As part of the Bayfair flyover opening to state highway traffic, works are taking place in and around the Bayfair roundabout including placing temporary asphalt on Maunganui Road in front of Golf 360 and establishing work zones for road reconstruction on all ground-level roads leading into, and away, from the Bayfair roundabout 

The following temporary road and lane closures will be in place:  

• A single lane closure on SH2/Maunganui Road northbound and southbound between Concord Avenue and Exeter Street will be in place on Sunday 23 April and Monday 24 April (from approximately 7pm to 6am each night).
• A single lane closure on SH2/Maunganui Road northbound between Exeter Street and Concord Avenue, and on Matapihi Road approaching Bayfair roundabout, will be in place from Wednesday 26 April to Friday 28 April (from approximately 7pm to 6am, nights only).
• At the Bayfair roundabout, partial overnight closures will be in place either between Matapihi Road and Girven Road or between Girven and Matapihi Road. The closure will be in place from Wednesday 26 April to Friday 28 April, and again from Sunday 30 April to Wednesday 3 May 2023 (from approximately 7pm to 6am, nights only) to enable upcoming road reconstruction work to be completed safely near live traffic lanes. During these hours there will be signposted detours in place. In the event of bad weather or unforeseen circumstances, the closure may be moved to the next suitable night/s.
  
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Changes for road users once the flyover is open 

Once the new flyover is open, all road users are encouraged to plan their first journeys through the area before leaving home, allow extra time, share the roads with care and patience, and follow all directions posted on temporary traffic management (including temporary speed limits). The flyover will open with a temporary speed limit of 50km/h, while the current temporary speed limit of 30km/h will continue to apply around the Bayfair roundabout. 

People travelling between SH2/Pāpāmoa, SH29A and Mount Maunganui, city centre 

People travelling to Mount Maunganui, the port, the city centre, Pāpāmoa/TEL or Maungatapu/SH29A will be able to use the flyover above the roundabout. This will separate state highway from local road users travelling on the lanes around Bayfair roundabout, including those accessing Bayfair Shopping Centre, HomeZone or other local businesses. 

People wishing to travel locally to Girven Road, Matapihi Road and local businesses will stay local and use the Bayfair roundabout to access the area. 

People travelling locally to and from Girven and Matapihi roads 

People travelling from Matapihi Road or Girven Road to Mount Maunganui, the port, the city centre, Pāpāmoa/TEL or Maungatapu/SH29A will continue travelling locally. The roundabout will be reduced to a single lane and there will be single lane closures in place on lanes approaching the roundabout. 

New traffic layouts following the flyover opening 

Lane closures on Maunganui Road are required to create work zones for road reconstruction on all roads leading to and from the roundabout. Temporarily reducing the road to a single lane allows this reconstruction to be completed safely alongside live traffic, and as efficiently and quickly as possible. 

• Maunganui Road, at ground level, northbound will be reduced to a single lane from opposite Exeter Street, through the Bayfair roundabout to opposite Concord Avenue.  
• Maunganui Road, at ground level, southbound will be reduced to a single lane from Concord Avenue to Bayfair roundabout. 
• There will be one lane only around the Bayfair roundabout.  
• As work continues at ground level at the project’s Baypark end, all road users using the Bayfair flyover to connect with SH2 Tauranga Eastern Link or SH29A will use the SH2/SH29A Te Maunga interchange. 
• People are reminded that the Truman Lane layout remains in place until late autumn 2023.

No changes for people walking and cycling 

The flyover is for vehicles only, and not accessible to people walking and cycling. Once the project is complete, safe walking and cycling connections will be provided at the local road level. In this configuration, there will be no changes to existing routes and the underpass will remain available for people travelling on foot, bikes, scooters, mobility scooters and wheelchairs to and from Matapihi and Arataki. 

While the flyover is one of the last significant pieces of infrastructure to be opened as part of Bay Link, other construction will be ongoing until the project’s completion in late 2023.  

Waka Kotahi thanks drivers, local residents and businesses for their patience.    
 
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