.MEDIA RELEASE

NZ Transport Agency Bay of Plenty Office

.MEDIA RELEASE

NZ Transport Agency Bay of Plenty Office

07 November 2012

Milestone for Tauranga Eastern Link as first bridge section for the Kaituna River Bridge is placed

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The first steel section for the Kaituna River Bridge was successfully placed yesterday, marking a milestone for the NZ Transport Agency’s Tauranga Eastern Link (TEL) project.

The Kaituna River Bridge is a four span bridge which will cross over the realigned Bell Road and Kaituna River. With a total length of 150 metres it will be the longest of the seven bridges being built for the TEL project.

The bridge will carry two lanes of traffic in each direction which will be separated by a median wire rope barrier, and will also include a three metre wide pedestrian/cycleway on the eastern side of the bridge.

During the coming weeks, over 270 steel sections which will form the new bridge will be lifted into place.

The NZTA’s Bay of Plenty state highways manager, Brett Gliddon, says a total of 68 piles were driven to depths of 55 metres to construct the two bridge abutments and three piers.

“Two of the piers are located on either side of the river channel which enables the bridge to extend out over the two stop banks.”

It is expected that the placement of all the beams for the bridge will be completed by early 2013.

Keep up-to-date with developments at www.nzta.govt.nz/tel.

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The four-lane Tauranga Eastern Link will run from Te Maunga (near Baypark Stadium) in Tauranga to the existing junction of State Highways 2 and 33 (the Rotorua and Whakatane highways) near Paengaroa. It will be made up of 17km of new road and an upgrade of six kilometres of existing highway. The new highway is expected to open to traffic in 2016.

The Tauranga Eastern Link is one of seven Roads of National Significance (RoNS), identified by Government as essential state highway projects linked to New Zealand’s economic prosperity. The NZTA is charged with delivering this programme of state highway improvements. The RoNS programme represents one of New Zealand’s biggest ever infrastructure investments and is a key part of the Government’s National Infrastructure Plan and Government’s Policy Statement for transport.

The seven RoNS projects are based around New Zealand's five largest population centres. The focus is on moving people and freight between and within these centres more safely and efficiently. Other RoNS may be added in future but currently from north to south the seven projects are: Puhoi to Wellsford - SH1, Completing the Western Ring Route, Auckland - SH16, SH18 and SH20, Victoria Park Tunnel, Auckland - SH1, Waikato Expressway - SH1, Tauranga Eastern Link - SH2, Wellington Northern Corridor - SH1, Christchurch Motorways. More information is available at www.nzta.govt.nz/rons

ENDS

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