The Pāpāmoa East/Wairākei Interchange has now opened to traffic. The new bridge, at Pāpamoa East, just west of the Kaituna river, was delivered in collaboration with the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) and built by HEB Construction Ltd.
It connects neighbourhoods in Pāpāmoa to the Tauranga Eastern Link Toll Road / State Highway 2 and is designed to enable faster, more direct travel for the Pāpāmoa community, ease congestion on local feeder roads and future-proof the roading network for planned development in the area. Traffic management on the Tauranga Eastern Link Toll Road/SH2 has also been lifted, restoring traffic to two lanes in either direction.
This project has been completed early and under budget.
Latest updates - the interchange is open!
We’re excited to have reached this stage and have opened the bridge to the community just prior to the Easter weekend, 2 April 2026. Some final tidying up may continue in the area over the next few weeks, however this shouldn’t impede traffic.
Drivers are advised that traffic management will continue at the intersection of Te Okuroa Drive and The Sands Avenue, as construction for business premises in the area progresses. We ask everyone coming through the intersection to take extra care.
An aerial view of construction of the intersection in March 2026.
Read our project newsletter from March 2026 for an update on the project.
As we complete some final works, project, updates are shared here and via project newsletters - you can sign up for these by emailing us on peiproject@tauranga.govt.nz.
Pāpāmoa East Interchange school visit
In November 2025, tamariki from Golden Sands School and Suzanne Aubert Catholic School visited the Pāpāmoa East Interchange construction site. These students have followed the project through each phase of construction, and we hope we’ve inspired a few future engineers along the way!
Pāpāmoa East Interchange -background
Tauranga is growing and changing fast. The Pāpāmoa area is expected to grow significantly over the next 20 years, increasing to around 40,000 by 2043. Supporting this growth means we need to build additional infrastructure, including transport options.
We are committed to developing ‘liveable communities’ that ensure people are optimally connected to the places they live, learn, work and play.
To unlock development at Pāpāmoa East and allow further growth at Golden Sands and Wairākei, we are constructing a new interchange at the eastern end of Te Okuroa Drive, to provide more direct access to the motorway.
This interchange will enable faster travel between neighbourhoods in Pāpāmoa East and Tauranga City Centre, Mount Maunganui and other destinations for people choosing to travel by car. It will also provide a more direct connection to the Rangiuru Business Park once that is operational.
The interchange is being constructed across the Tauranga Eastern Link Toll Road (TEL TR)/ State Highway 2 (SH2), east of the Wairākei neighbourhood, linking Te Okuroa Drive and future The Sands Avenue. Construction started in July 2022. Expected completion in March 2026.
Construction will continue to have some impacts on traffic on the TEL TR – reduced speed and lane closures will apply when necessary to keep drivers and construction crew safe.
Why is this important?
Over the past few years, development in Pāpāmoa East has increased pressure on Tara Road and Te Okuroa Drive as the main connections to SH2. The new interchange will provide residents in the area with an essential alternative route and enable continued development in this area. Pāpāmoa East includes both the Wairākei and Te Tumu areas, which are identified in the SmartGrowth strategy as priority development areas to provide a significant proportion of Tauranga City’s current residential growth demands. The Wairākei Urban Growth Area is a greenfield development currently home to residents which includes the Golden Sands Town Centre and surrounding residential communities. The Te Tumu Urban Growth Area, currently in the planning stage, is bordered by the Kaituna River and the Wairākei Stream (formerly known as the Pāpāmoa Main Drain, the stream had its original name of Wairākei Stream reinstated in 2004).
Partners
This project is a collaboration between Tauranga City Council and Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency with support from Bay of Plenty Regional Council and Western Bay of Plenty District Council. The work is guided by designers Bloxam Burnett & Olliver (BBO) and construction is in the hands of HEB Construction Ltd.
We are also working with our iwi partners Te Kapu o Waitaha, Tapuika Iwi Authority, Ngā Pōtiki a Tamapahore Trust and Te Rununga o Ngāti Whakaue ki Maketū. This partnership includes capturing and documenting stories from tangata whenua that relate to the area and its history, cultural monitoring during earth works and incorporation of cultural design elements and artwork.
Construction phases
Construction of the interchange commenced in April 2022, and has been split into three phases.
The first phase, Enabling Earthworks, involved creating a nine-metre high embankment to form the westbound (Tauranga) exit and entry ramps, installing three culverts and culvert extensions, as well as installing flexible safety barriers and widening the southern side of the Tauranga Eastern Link. Earthworks to build a stormwater retention pond, swales and connecting drains were also completed during this phase, which was completed in mid-2023.
The second phase, the Te Okuroa Drive and The Sands Avenue Intersection, was completed in early 2024. Construction in this phase included a signalised intersection, the continuation of four lanes east from Te Okuroa Drive to The Sands Avenue, as well as a shared bi-directional cycleway, footpaths, traffic islands, street lighting, traffic signals and utilities. Water infrastructure, including some trunk water mains, wastewater trunk mains and stormwater reticulation has been implemented, as has CCTV cameras and associated cabling for these.
The final phase, Construction of the Interchange, as well as the section of The Sands Avenue leading north to the intersection with Te Okuroa Drive is now underway. Expected completion in March 2026.
Location
The interchange will be constructed over the Tauranga Eastern Link Toll Road (SH2), east of Wairākei neighbourhood, linking Te Okuroa Drive and future The Sands Avenue.
Phasing plan of the Pāpāmoa East Interchange
Traffic impacts on the Tauranga Eastern Link
To keep drivers and crew safe during construction alongside the motorway, a 2km section of the outer lanes in both directions will be closed.
This closure will remain for the duration of construction, and speed in the work section will be reduced to 70km/h.
