Safety improvement on Totara Street continues this week with work between Hull Road and Kawaka Street getting underway from Tuesday.

This joins the work ongoing between Hewletts Road and Triton Avenue, most of which is being conducted at night.

The work between Hull Road and Kawaka Street will run from February 1 to February 4 between 6am and 4pm. Two lanes of traffic will be maintained but with speed restrictions in place.

Work between Hewletts Road and Triton Avenue does not affect lanes of traffic during the day. However, between 7pm and 7am traffic traveling south along Totara Street will be diverted along Maunganui Road, Sunday to Thursday, until this section of work is complete.

Night work north of Kawaka Street, towards Rata Street, continues. Two-way traffic will be maintained throughout.

Image: Tauranga City Council.

Work to improve the safety along Totara St began in October 2021. The plan is to build a shared path and separated cycleway in response to two deaths on Totara Street since 2018.

'Totara Street is one of the main traffic corridors in and out of Mount Maunganui,” said Tauranga City Council's general manager of infrastructure Nic Johansson when works began in October.

'We want to ensure that it can be used, not only by freight vehicles, but that it's also safe for locals and visitors to travel here whatever mode of transport they choose.

'We're seeing increased demand from people who want to walk, bike or scooter as they move around our city. This shared path and cycleway will enable them to do this more safely.”

The project is set to cost around $8.4m, jointly funded by Council and Waka Kotahi NZTA.

Going forward, night works to construct the cycleway between Tasman Quay and Totara Street begins on Sunday, February 20 and will continue until Thursday, March 21 2022.

Whilst this work is ongoing, traffic will be reduced to one lane between 8pm and 5am.

All lanes will remain open from 5am to 8pm.

As well as increased works on Totara Street this week, residents in Tauranga can expect further delays along Cameron Road, with a number of construction sites in place.

Repairs to SH2 Takitimu Drive, under the Waihi Road/Eleventh Avenue overbridge, were briefly delayed by inclement weather last week. Contractors will now close the northbound lanes, with one lane of traffic in each direction.

Work will continue over Waitangi Day Weekend to complete the works. Two-way traffic flow will be maintained throughout and the road is expected to be fully re-opened the night of Sunday, February 6.

There remains an extended lane closure on the westbound traffic lane on Elizabeth Street, heading towards Takitimu Drive between Devonport Road and Grey Street roundabout, until approximately May 2022.

For more information visit the Tauranga City Council website.