Traffic travelling in both directions on State Highway 36, Pyes Pa Road, is diverted this week as part of the Pyes Pa Bypass project.

NZ Transport Agency state highway manager Rod James says traffic will be diverted onto one side of the new roundabout being built to connect the new Pyes Pa Bypass to State Highway 36.

Pyes Pa roundabout works.

'Construction of one side of the roundabout has been completed, but as the new roundabout is about two metres lower than the existing road, a significant amount of earth needs to be excavated to allow it to be completed,” says Rod.

The work is scheduled to take eight weeks and the roundabout is expected to be fully functional in April.

Work will then continue to finish drains, road pavement, landscaping and lighting on the main section of the bypass which will be officially opened in late May or early June.

The Pyes Pa Bypass is jointly funded by the NZ Transport Agency and Tauranga City Council.

It includes 4.5km of new road and will remove through-traffic from the residential section of SH36 and provide more efficient access between SH36 and downtown Tauranga via Route K (the Takitimu Drive toll road).

The bypass begins at the SH29/Route K roundabout and joins SH36 near the crematorium.