3.39pm update: The tree felling and mainteance work being carried out on Sunday on State Highway 29 in the Lower Kaimai range has now been completed.

NZTA advise that SH29 is now clear in both directions.

Earlier, a maintenance crew closed off one lane on the state highway in order to safely fell a tree that had critical powerlines underneath it.

There were traffic delays as stop/go management was utilised with motorists having to wait for up to 20-30 minutes.

12.45pm update: A spokesperson for NZTA says that the maintenance work being undertaken on State Highway 29 in the Lower Kaimai range is expected to be completed by 3pm.

"The tree felling is going well and they will be finished early, hopefully all packed up by 3pm,' says an NZTA spokesperson.

"There are critical powerlines that are underneath the tree so it's a pretty big job."

The tree had been identified as a risk for motorists, so a maintenance crew was required to remove it, which involves a stop/go traffic management as one lane has been closed.

Traffic is heavy in the area on both sides of the tree felling, with school holiday traffic also building up, due to people travelling home from holiday on the last day of the school holidays. SunLive readers are reporting up to 20-30 minute delays through the site.

Earlier, 11.09am:

Maintenance being carried out on State Highway 29, Lower Kaimai, is causing long traffic delays on Sunday morning and is expected to continue until tree felling is completed around 5pm.

SunLive readers are reporting that there is traffic building up on both the Tauranga and Matamata side of the Kaimai Range on SH 29.

'Queued traffic at Soldiers Road heading from Tauranga," says one SunLive reader.

"Due to planned maintenance and tree work in this section of SH2, motorists are advised to expect delays and use extra caution when travelling through this area," says an NZTA spokesperson in an email to SunLive about 45 minutes after the maintenance began.

Another SunLive reader reports that there are long queues on both sides of the tree felling area, with up to 20-30 minutes delays.

A Stop/Go is reported to be in operation near Soldiers Road on SH29.

There was no information on the planned maintenance published to the NZTA social media pages or website earlier on Sunday morning, catching motorists unawares and causing frustration to many.

NZTA have advised that the planned maintenance and tree felling can be expected to continue until 5pm on Sunday.

At the scene? Phone 0800 SUNLIVE or email [email protected]