NZTA upgrading Ngatea main highway

The main street in and out of Ngatea. Supplied photo.

Blue skies are on the horizon for Ngatea's main street, and it's not just because it's summer.

The town's CBD is set to look extra smart quite soon because of two separate projects that will be happening at the same time.

NZ Transport Agency is renewing the main highway while Hauraki District Council upgrades the kerbs, footpaths and parking areas.

Hauraki District Mayor Toby Adams says the two projects are dependent on each other and will take careful planning and coordination to be successful.

'Luckily NZ Transport Agency has agreed to hold off on doing their part of the work to give us time to talk with our communities and finalise our design.

'This means we'll have to put up with the potholes for a bit longer but the end result will be much better. We really appreciate that they've agreed to work in with our timeframes.”

NZ Transport Agency has recently done some patch up work on the main street. But this is only a temporary repair until the full renewal work can be done.

A mayoral advisory group made up of local business owners and other key people in the community has been set up to provide the Council with advice throughout the project. Information and displays will also be available for the wider community to view and give feedback on from early December.

'We're really grateful for the help the advisory group has given us so far. We want to work closely with the community and make sure we end up with a main street we can all be proud of."

While disruption to local businesses, schools, and the community during construction is unavoidable, he says the Council will work closely with the advisory group and the community to try to minimise this and let people know Ngatea is still open for business.

'As they say, there is always some short term pain for long term gain. Unfortunately, there will be disruption, but ultimately the main street upgrade will breathe new life into the CBD."

'Thousands of people travel through Ngatea every year and we want them to be inspired to stop and spend more than just a penny at the local loos. The town has award winning cafes and some great shops. We also want to make the CBD safer, more appealing and easier for locals to get around.”

There are many things that are not yet known, such as the specific design features and an exact date for construction, but it's expected work will start some time in February next year.

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1 comment

Up-grades of highways.

Posted on 13-11-2019 11:02 | By local yokel

Meanwhile Transit NZ are neglecting the road between Tauranga and Ngatea which is a major highway that is stretched to its limit and has been the site of many bad accidents and deaths. Sure some of the deaths have been caused by bad driving or un-attention but most have been caused by the road that NZTA and "BOTH" governments have been promising to fix for years but still they carry on neglecting it while more accidents and deaths are still occuring all the time.


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