Motorists are being warned that State Highway 29A between the Hairini and Poike roundabouts will be closed for 12 hours this weekend.

To allow NZ Transport Agency contractors to crane in a 46 metre-long overbridge for pedestrians and cyclists, this section of SH29A will be closed from 7pm on Saturday until 7am on Sunday.

The concept design for the Poike Road Overbridge which will be lifted into place across State Highway 29A this weekend. Image: NZTA

While the bridge is being installed, light vehicles will be detoured down Ohauiti and Poike roads, while trucks will be detoured down Turret Road, 15th Avenue and Cameron Road.

The Poike Road Overbridge will be installed just north of the Poike roundabout on SH29 and will eventually connect Ohauiti with the Waiariki Bay of Plenty campus.

A shared path will link the overbridge with established and planned cycling projects also being built along the eastern side of SH29A.

The overbridge project is a key link in a plan to connect the Western Bay with a series of cycling and walking paths, with an estimated $15 million expected to be spent in the next decade.