Construction of Tauranga City Council’s new Pāpāmoa East Interchange has reached a major milestone, with the installation of 12 concrete bridge beams, making the connection across the Tauranga Eastern Link Toll Road (TEL TR), to take place this week.
Project Manager for the Pāpāmoa East Interchange, Nic Barnett said it was an exciting time for construction.
“The beams will form the basis for the bridge deck, so people can really see progress now,” Mr Barnett says.
“The installation of 12, 70-tonne, 33 metre beams is a significant operation, involving a number of long trucks to bring the beams in and large cranes to lift them into place.”
“To keep drivers and crew safe, the road will need to be closed and free of traffic. This work is planned at night to limit traffic impacts as much as possible.”
To ensure people’s safety during this work, the TEL TR / State Highway 2 will be closed for four nights, from tomorrow (19 August) to Friday night, 22 August. Traffic in both directions will be diverted via Te Puke Highway, between 8pm and 5am each night.
Outside of the night closures, the current traffic management remains in place with traffic down to one lane in each direction and speed reduced to 70km/h through the construction site.
Digital signs at the Tauranga Eastern Link Toll Road will provide drivers a heads up and advise of any changes.
For more information about the Pāpāmoa East Interchange and construction, visit letstalk.tauranga.govt.nz/pei.
