Work gets underway to complete Pyes Pa Bypass

Following the winter site shut down, work is underway again to complete the Pyes Pa Bypass.

Works to be carried out to complete the bypass include:

• removing the remaining preload material and sealing the road surface on the middle section
• constructing the roundabouts at Kennedy's and Pyes Pa Roads
• upgrading property entrances on Pyes Pa Road
• landscaping (ie grassing and planting) along the route.

Rod James, the NZ Transport Agency’s State Highway Manager, says while most of the work is off-road construction of the roundabout on State Highway 36 near the cemetery could cause some disruption to traffic.

“Work on the new roundabout will begin early in the construction season, take a break for three weeks over Christmas, and is expected to be completed in late January 2011. We thank road users in advance for their patience during any delays caused by the works”.

The bypass, a partnership between the NZTA, Tauranga City Council and Grasshopper Developments, includes 4.2km of new road. It connects the State Highway 29 roundabout near the tolled section of Takitimu Drive (Route K), to State Highway 36 (near the crematorium).

Once completed, road users will have a less congested, more direct route into the city from SH36 via Route K. People living in the residential section of Pyes Pa Road will have safer local road access their property.

The bypass is expected to be open to traffic in mid-2011.