Environment BOP is in support of the government's decision to toll the Tauranga Eastern link project that will enable traffic to bypass Te Puke when travelling between Te Maunga and Paengaroa.
The toll is to be $2 for cars and $5 for trucks and having it enables construction on the five year project to begin in 2011 instead of 2018 with no toll.

"It shows that the government is committed to the need to put infrastructure in place that will cater for the future economic and population growth of the region," says Environment BOP chief executive Bill Bayfield.
The Tauranga Eastern Link will have two sections - one from Te Maunga to Domain Road that will be an upgrade of the existing two-lane road to a four-lane motorway and will not be tolled. The other section will be a completely new four-lane motorway with a median barrier from Domain Road to Paengaroa that will be tolled near the Papamoa east interchange.
"This more direct alternative to State Highway 2 will not only improve access to the port, it should also result in increased productivity for regional and national freight traffic, as well as providing a safer and more direct alternative route for vehicles travelling between Tauranga and Paengaroa.
"SmartGrowth, a programme for managing growth in the Western Bay of Plenty, had also recognised the challenges that population growth would bring to the region and noted that future projects including the Rangiuru Business Park would benefit immensely from the Tauranga Eastern Link motorway."