If you’re a regular traveller along State Highway 2 at Te Puna, west of Tauranga, you would have seen work underway beside the state highway, where the NZTA Waka Kotahi Takitimu North Link project team is building a large culvert.

It’s a point of interest NZTA get lots of questions about, and rightly so as this is not a normal culvert.

"It’s more like a bridge with a very thick floor - 1.2m thick," NZTA said.

When finished, four lanes of traffic will travel over this 32m wide culvert, which is near the project’s major western interchange at Te Rangi tua nehe Minden. 

Beneath it, the Oturu Stream tributary will flow toward I’Anson Reserve.

NZTA said the culvert is designed to handle a 100-year weather event and accommodate floodwaters without causing upstream flooding or overtopping the state highway.

"From an ecological perspective, it includes a stream simulation to allow fish passage. During the work, our team has found a variety of species, including shortfin tuna (eel), longfin tuna, and banded kōkopu," NZTA said.

"This area of our site is referred to as the western tie-in to SH2. It’s also where Takitimu North Link Stage 1 and Stage 2 meet.

"We’re continuing to explore the connection between the two stages, including the design and sequencing, given the target start date for Stage 2 (end of 2027) and its interaction with the completion of Stage 1 in 2028.

"We’ve been consulting with Western Bay of Plenty District Council, QEII Trust, and local residents at Loop Road on a revised design over recent months, and this work is expected to be completed by mid-2025."