People have five years to practice negotiating the Domain Road/State Highway 2/ Eastern Link interchange and roundabouts before the project is completed in 2016.

And the place to do it is the Tauranga Eastern Link visitor information centre, which opens today.

NZ Transport Agency community liaison Kylie Ruegg, and NZTA principal project manager Andrew Scott on the floor map at the new visitor centre.

As well as the ‘virtual interchange navigator' driving simulator machine, the centre's displays provide background on the Bay of Plenty's largest ever highway project, showing how it is being managed in three main parts.

The centre also provides the public with an up-to-date photographic record of the works progress – much of which is taking place away from the public eye.

The virtual interchange navigator.

'Opening the information centre is an important step toward ensuring the community is kept up-to-date with progress on the project,” says NZ Transport Agency principal project manager Andrew Scott.

'Our team will also be on hand to answer any questions, and we are available to give presentations on the project to interested community groups and schools.”

As well as an interactive fly-through animation of the future highway, and the Domain Road interchange navigator and tolling instructor, the information centre includes a scale model of the interchange DVD presentations featuring construction footage and in-depth project information and statistics.

Procedures like wick draining taking place at Domain Road are explained at the new information centre

The information centre is the place to find out about wick draining, the process currently being undertaken at the Domain Road.

More than 23,000 wick drains are being installed at a depth of up to 25 metres at Domain Road to speed the rate water escapes from the underlying peat and decreasing settlement time when earthworks are built.

'It explains to the public what they are and how they work,” says Andrew.

Half the floor of the information centre is a walkover map showing the route, the different construction sectors with wall mounts of the details of the construction features in each zone.

He's considering webcams for the bridge site across the Kaituna River.

The haul road has been completed from the Te Puke side and installation of the stone columns is expected to begin this month.

Stone columns are another engineering device intended to overcome the limitations of the

peat and stabilise the ground against liquefaction in case of earthquakes and provide greater bearing capacity for the bridge embankments.

The information centre is at the project site office at 65 Tara Road with the entrance off the Tara Road / Doncaster Drive roundabout.

The centre is open weekdays from 9am – 4.30pm.