Non-intrusive survey work will begin this week along 15th Ave and Turret Rd as planning progresses on the 15th Ave to Welcome Bay upgrade.
The $140 million project will add a direction-changing “tidal flow” third lane to Turret Rd over the Hairini Bridge, make part of 15th Ave four lanes wide and add a new shared pathway.
It is intended to help address growing peak‑hour congestion, safety issues and poor access for pedestrians and cyclists.
Proposed 15th Ave, Turret Rd and Hairini Bridge and causeway changes as part of the 15th Ave to Welcome Bay project. Graphic / Tauranga City Council
In a media release, Tauranga City Council said the surveys would run from today until the end of June.
The council said this would help build a clearer picture of underground services and site conditions ahead of detailed design.
The work will use specialist equipment that is handheld, pushed or vehicle-mounted, and does not require excavation or disruption to existing services.
To reduce impacts on traffic and nearby residents, the council said surveys would be carried out during day and night shifts.
Temporary traffic management and short-term lane restrictions may be in place at times. All work is weather-dependent.
6 comments
Why?
Posted on 26-05-2026 08:06 | By Yadick
Why not just double lane it all the way through? For goodness sake, why not for a change, do the job once and do it right. You can do it and still keep your precious Pohutukawas (that by the way will eventually die) by putting the road either side of them.
I can only see this new work as just another temporary fix. It'll never be as cheap to do as it is now. You could redirect the museum and meeting rooms money into something useful, needed and wanted after all the Pohutukawa are looked upon as historical though sit neglected in a potholed quagmire . . .
The Band-Aid Mentality
Posted on 26-05-2026 10:18 | By First Responder
Tauranga’s transport planning has become the perfect example of the “band-aid mentality” that has plagued this city for decades.
Every couple of years we get another announcement, another survey, another consultation, another temporary fix, another lane painted somewhere — while traffic gets worse, population grows, and ratepayers keep footing the bill for tinkering.
The 15th Ave/Turret Rd corridor has been a known bottleneck for years. Everyone knows it. Locals know it. Businesses know it. Commuters sit in it every morning and afternoon. Yet instead of committing to a proper long-term solution, we seem trapped in an endless cycle of piecemeal upgrades designed to buy another couple of years before the next crisis.
Tauranga is no longer a small provincial town. It is one of New Zealand’s fastest-growing cities, yet our infrastructure planning still behaves as though we can solve major transport issues with traffic cones, painted lanes, and “investigations”.
How many millions have already been spent on studies, redesigns, consultations, and temporary modifications over the years? And still we are back talking about survey works again.
At some point leadership requires courage — not just managing congestion, but actually solving it properly. That means investing once, investing properly, and building infrastructure that matches the scale of Tauranga’s future rather than constantly reacting to yesterday’s problems.
Ratepayers are tired of watching the city fall behind while officials celebrate incremental fixes as major achievements. Tauranga deserves infrastructure planned for the next 30 years, not the next election cycle.
Here we go
Posted on 26-05-2026 12:54 | By Local Cam
Just build the four lane bridge. Another complete waste of money.
It’s actually really simple, but seems to many chiefs are making decisions.
Do it once, do it right
Another waste of money
Posted on 26-05-2026 15:42 | By NZoldkiwi
I agree with all of the above. 4 lane all 15th Ave and Turret road. If this council can't do the job properly resign so we can get a council that will do the job properly. It's not rocket science.
Why a Bridge?
Posted on 26-05-2026 16:38 | By davidt5
Why go to the expense of building a bridge?
Make a causeway using large concrete pipes which are readily available from Humes. These can be 2.4 metres in diameter and laid end to end diagonally to the roadway. Use many lines of pipes to allow the tidal waters to flow beneath the roadway. Minimal planning or engineering. No need for deep piles. No need for strengthened bridge beams. No need for safety rails. No need for painting. Keeps the cost low for a very long time.
Wow…
Posted on 28-05-2026 09:13 | By Shadow1
…I’m impressed, five new comments on this old chestnut of a news article. I have to say they are all good views. The solution by Davis5 is particularly good and has never been discussed as a solution. Having multiple lines of pipes( battery culvert) is often used as a temporary solution for crossing rivers. It would be useful here. If we consider that we don’t know if the existing bridge is strong enough to carry three lanes the discussion is meaningless.
The pipe solution will always work. Remember that rising sea levels won’t stop for some time, so the causeway level will have to be raised and may as well be widened to carry four lanes too.
The important thing for Council to remember is that the biggest hurdle is replacing the existing narrow bridge. Widening 15th Ave can wait.
Shadow1.
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