The new section of State Highway 33, between Paengaroa and Rotorua, is expected to provide safer travel connections from the Central Bay of Plenty to the Western Bay of Plenty for motorists.

The highway was officially blessed by local hapu Ngati Pikiao and Rotorua Mayor Steve Chadwick today.

The new Sun Valley Curve road. Photo: Supplied.

Rotorua Mayor Steve Chadwick at the site of the blessing.

This NZ Transport Agency project, managed by Rotorua District Council was completed in 16 months and aims to improve safety at this location by removing a series of tight bends.

This $3.6 million realignment project, known as the Sun Valley Curves realignment, started in early November 2012 and is now fully completed, says the NZ Transport Agency.

'We have constructed a new, straighter road, and added in a south bound (towards Rotorua) passing lane to make it safer for drivers,” says highways manager Brett Gliddon.

Mayor Steve Chadwick says the road is a significant connection for North-South travellers and something to be very proud of.

She says it will become even more important to the wider region with traffic levels increasing from Taupo to Tauranga via Rotorua.

'We need to think of roads not just in terms of whether they are local or not, but as providing an important connection for people from region to region.”