Next stage of construction begins on the Princess Street roundabout in Waitara

New traffic management will be in place at the intersection of Princess Street and SH3 in Waitara from next Wednesday (10 May) as work on the southbound lane of the roundabout and underpass gets underway.

The SH3/Princess Street roundabout is the first of four roundabouts being built as part of the Te Ara Tūtohu: Waitara to Bell Block safety improvements project, which also includes median barrier and other safety improvements that will help reduce deaths and serious injuries on the busy section of highway north of New Plymouth.

From Wednesday 10 May

• Access to Princess Street West from SH3, which has been closed since mid-April, will be restored.
• A section of the northbound lane of Princess Street East approaching the intersection with SH3 will be closed. Traffic will still be able to enter and exit Princess Street East while it is reduced to one lane.
• The northbound lane of SH3 through the intersection with Princess Street will reopen while the southbound lane will close for one week.

From Wednesday 17 May

• SH3 will reopen to two lanes of traffic.
• Princess Street East will continue to be reduced to one lane.
• Work will begin on the underpass to provide safer access across the highway for pedestrians and cyclists.

Stop/Go traffic management will be in place all hours of day and night at the intersection, with temporary traffic lights controlling the flow of traffic through the intersection.

A 30km/h temporary speed limit will also be in place. Road users should allow for delays of up to 15 minutes.

This traffic management will remain in place while construction of the roundabout’s southbound lane is underway. This is expected to be completed in November 2023. Construction of the northbound lane will begin following this.

Safe crossing opportunities will be provided for pedestrians and cyclists crossing SH3 from Princess Street.

Crews will work Monday to Friday between the hours of 7am and 5.30pm. Night works may be carried out from time to time if required. If this is the case, we will notify residents and road users ahead of any night works taking place.

Waka Kotahi thanks communities for their patience while these important works are completed.

For further information on Te Ara Tūtohu: Waitara to Bell Block and to sign up to email updates visit our project site:

Te Ara Tūtohu: Waitara to Bell Block

Princess Street roundabout virtual flyover

For a virtual flythrough of what the roundabout, underpass, and Manukorihi Park stormwater treatment wetland swale will look like once construction is complete, please watch the following video:

Princess St roundabout visualisation - Te Ara Tūtohu SH3 Waitara to Bell Block safety improvements(external link)