Tauranga's Eastern Link could be in line to boast a series of larger-than-life artworks that will act as a gateway to Tauranga City, if vital funding goes ahead.

With the 23km-long project scheduled to finish late-2015, New Zealand Transport Agency is in talks with potential partners, including the Port of Tauranga and Tauranga City Council, to get the idea off the ground.

The new Tara Road roundabout as part of the Tauranga Eastern Link project.

The vision is for a pair of eight metre tall tumble weeds to be erected near the Tara Rd roundabout along with a Maori pa site sculpture on the grass embankment on the southern side of the Domain Rd interchange.

There is also the possibility of two extra cultural art pieces at the Paengaroa roundabout-end, to be included at a later stage.

NZTA's TEL senior project manager Wayne Troughton says the artwork will be a great visual asset to the expressway.

'This is the gateway to Tauranga from the east, so we are looking to put something up that acts as a threshold,” says Wayne.

'They will be notable because you don't get much of that stuff around; it really gives value to the driver. We have defined what we want to put here, we just have to go through that funding process.”

Creative Tauranga chief executive Tracey Rudduck-Gudsell confirms the organisation is helping NZTA in a consultation capacity, undertaking the submission process to find a suitable artist.

After receiving seven submissions nationally, a panel whittled it down to four; three local artists and Wellington's Regan Gentry - coming out as the preferred choice for his two designs.

Tracey is unable to comment on the total value involved in the creating such designs, but believes it's something the city will culturally benefit from.

'It will be outstanding; imagine one of our entrance ways into the city having that sort of impact,” says Tracey.

'We won't know ourselves; it will be outstanding and will be of national significance for us growing up as a city to have fantastic pieces of artwork from Paeangaroa right through to the city.”