Whakatāne District Council is proposing to upgrade the section of Keepa Road adjacent to the town's planned new marina.

The $29 million first stage of Te Rāhui Herenga Waka is to be constructed over the next two years through a partnership between landholders Te Rāhui Lands Trust, the Whakatāne District Council, Ngāti Awa Group Holdings and the Crown.

The boat harbour will include berthage facilities for about 60 commercial vessels from 14 to 30 metres in size and a travel lift of 80-to-100-tonne capacity.

A proposed second stage, which does not yet have funding, includes further berths for recreational boats, a boat ramp and other commercial facilities.

Much of the feedback through social media around last month's announcement that the harbour was going ahead has been that the boat harbour would cause problems of congestion on Keepa Road, which is the main route into town for ever-growing Coastlands-Piripai communities.

In a report to the council's projects and services committee yesterday, infrastructure general manager Bevan Gray said an upgrade had been proposed for the section of Keepa Road between State Highway 30 to the Kope Canal Bridge due to increasing traffic demands.

'This section of Keepa Road is currently quite rural in its form and function but increasing residential development in the Piripai-Coastlands area and the new boat harbour complex to be located adjacent to this stretch of road means it will need to be upgraded.”

The report said a business case would be progressed this year to determine the full scope of work required and to support an application for co-funding from Waka Kotahi.

At yesterday's meeting Mr Gray said council was looking at options around purchasing some land to make the upgrade.

Improvements were likely to include an improved alignment between the state highway roundabout and the Kope Canal Bridge.

'There are some dog-leg corners on that road that could be better aligned,” Mr Gray said.

Other improvements would include a wider carriageway with a central flush median to enable right turn bays into the boat harbour, improved drainage and street lighting.

The proposed upgrade would also include raising the road, both to lift it out of the flood risk zone and also to facilitate better access to the boat harbour hardstand areas.

-Local Democracy Reporting is Public Interest Journalism funded through NZ On Air