Construction of two-lane roundabout at Piarere to start in January

Thursday, 14 December 2023

The two-lane roundabout will replace this intersection of SH1 and SH29, which has been called one of New Zealand's most dangerous.

A two-lane roundabout is about to replace the Piarere intersection, which is used by about 20,000 vehicles a day.

Construction at the Piarere intersection of state Highways 1 and 29 will start in early January and is expected to take two years, NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi said.

The intersection – a key connector for Auckland, Waikato and the Bay of Plenty - regularly backs up 51m in afternoon peak periods, Environment Court documents state.

Pictured at a blessing ahead of construction are, from left, Poto Davies, Karaitiana Tamatea (Ngaati Koroki Kahukura), Wina Taute (Raukawa) and Eugene Kara (Ngaati Koroki Kahukura artist)

Downer NZ has won the tender for the $43.5m roundabout project, the agency said.

The new configuration will improve safety, traffic flow of the intersection previously described as one of New Zealand’s most dangerous, and it’d also be able to connect with any future Waikato Expressway extension.

A blessing of the site was held on Tuesday with mana whenua – Ngaati Koroki Kahukura, Ngaati Hauaa Iwi Trust and Raukawa - to signal the shift into the construction phase.

An average of 20,000 vehicles travel through the intersection daily, said Downer infrastructure delivery regional manager Mark Woodward.

This is “a vital link between Auckland, Waikato and the Bay of Plenty, and onto the central and lower North Island,” said Downer infrastructure delivery regional manager Mark Woodward.

“It’s a vital link between Auckland, Waikato and the Bay of Plenty, and onto the central and lower North Island.”

And Karaitiana Tamatea of Ngaati Koroki Kahukura said the it was a special turning point, noting the physical and spiritual place where the Waikato River changed its original course for the new alternative route of State Highway 1.

“This is a spiritual journey as well as a physical journey and we want this to be a safe place for people to enter into our rohe (area),” Tamatea said.

The transport agency’s Jo Wilton said the roundabout would prevent deaths and serious injuries on a piece of road where there had been calls for improvements.

“It will improve the traffic flow with two lanes and has been designed to allow for connection with a future expressway between Cambridge and Piarere,” said the agency’s regional manager of infrastructure delivery for Waikato and Bay of Plenty.

The project is funded by the New Zealand Upgrade Programme.

People can expect to see some initial survey works on the site before Christmas and work will start in earnest from January 8.