SH29/Tauriko Village upgrades

Latest news

Cambridge Road lane reopened – February 2026

Major upgrade works have been undertaken at the intersection of State Highway 29 (SH29) and Cambridge Road over the past month with a temporary northbound lane closure on Cambridge Road.

The lane closure has now been lifted, and Cambridge Road is accessible from both directions of SH29.

The lane closure allowed crews to safely carry out key activities, including:

removing 150 temporary sheet piles from the 120-metre-long retaining wall
excavating 5,600 tonnes of earth to make way for the new road
laying 1200 tonnes of asphalt to form the new northbound lanes of SH29 and on Cambridge Road
as well as installing watermains, stormwater, and other utilities.

These are all key steps to prepare the intersection for its future traffic signals, additional lanes and shared path.

NZTA sincerely thanks local residents, the wider community and road users for their patience and support during this key upgrade work.

New intersection in Tauriko Village

A new intersection in Tauriko Village, near where the former service station was, opened with a temporary layout on Monday 5 May 2025, providing access to a safer, new carpark for Tauriko School and Playcentre.
The new intersection not only provides access to the carpark but in the future will link to the planned community in Tauriko West, being developed to help accommodate Tauranga’s growing population.
Though currently operating as a give way intersection without lights while the team works on the surrounding infrastructure, the intersection will eventually feature additional lanes and be signalised with traffic lights.

Tauriko Village temporary intersection map [PDF, 188 KB]

New road layout in Tauriko Village

As part of the upgrades in the area, we are widening SH29 to make way for new lanes and a shared path. This work got underway in early May 2025 and includes constructing a permanent noise wall outside the school, retaining walls, wetland areas to treat stormwater runoff, a new shared footpath and cycleway, and underground service upgrades.

The following road layout will be in place for approximately 1 year:

Both north and southbound traffic on SH29 will be shifted to the southern side of SH29 for the duration of these works.
Traffic lanes will be maintained in both directions, along with the flush median in the centre of the road.
Access to businesses and residential properties will be maintained throughout these works. However, there will be a reduction in the width of the shoulder along the southern side of the road, meaning reduced space available for entering and exiting driveways and heading south on SH29.
This new road layout will enable us to undertake work on the northern (Tauriko School) side of SH29.
Once the northern side of the highway has been widened, the team will move to work on the southern (Boerewors and Gull) side of SH29. Traffic will be shifted onto the newly built lanes of SH29 on the northern side. We will be in touch with more details about this closer to the time.
A temporary speed limit of 60km/h will remain in place throughout Tauriko Village while work is underway.

At project completion, SH29 will be four-laned through Tauriko Village, making the road wider and safer for road users and the communities that live and work there.

Overview

Construction is underway to build two signalised intersections at SH29/Tauriko Village and SH29/Cambridge Road.

The new intersection with traffic lights on SH29 at Tauriko Village will provide access to the northern part of Tauriko West. The upgrade of the existing SH29/Cambridge Road intersection with traffic lights will improve safety and provide a connection to Whiore Avenue for buses, people walking and cycling only. These are 2 of 4 key intersection upgrades as part of the Tauriko Enabling Works project.

Construction started in September 2024 and is scheduled for completion in early 2027.

The upgrades in the Tauriko Village area include:

a new intersection with traffic lights on SH29 at Tauriko Village to provide access to the northern part of Tauriko West
widening of SH29 between the new intersection at Tauriko Village and Cambridge Road, including provision of a new shared walking and cycling path along the northern side of SH29
an upgrade of the existing SH29/Cambridge Road intersection with traffic lights and a new connection to Whiore Avenue for buses, people walking and cycling only
a new footpath along the southern side of Whiore Avenue and provision for future bus stops. The new bus stops and an on-road, two-way, protected cycle lane between the SH29/Cambridge Road intersection and Taurikura Drive would be installed once the first homes in the new Tauriko West community have been developed and demand increases.