Motorists are expressing their frustration over significant traffic delays on State Highway 2 into Tauranga, describing the situation as an “absolute joke” and reporting missed flights and appointments due to the congestion.
The NZ Transport Agency has acknowledged the frustration caused by the delays, attributing the increase in traffic to over 6000 additional vehicles using the Waihī to Tauranga corridor daily over the past decade and recent spikes as students return to school and people go back to work.
The agency has also mentioned ongoing planned maintenance and operation works expected to be completed by next month.
Commuters have shared experiences of severe delays with state-subsidised media outlet NZ Herald, with some journeys taking up to 2.5 hours for what is typically a much shorter trip.
The congestion has led to missed flights, late appointments, and instances of risk-taking behaviour by frustrated drivers.
The increase in traffic, compounded by construction and maintenance work, has transformed SH2 from a rural road to a busy commuter and freight route, causing significant disruptions.
NZTA said it was committed to implementing safety features and conducting maintenance to improve the condition of the corridor, with major projects like the Takitimu North Link underway to alleviate the pressure on this critical route.
Welcome to the nightmares of tauranga traffic. Our unelected council has turned our city into bike lanes rather than automobile traffic. Now they are pondering a congestion tax at busy times. This amazing city has been destroyed. Mahuta wanted to make sure our blue voting city would pay the price and we have. We are looking at massive rate hikes to pay for their wild spending.
They don’t care as can walk away after their huge wages.
I saw the writing on the wall 35 years ago. All my predictions are right on the money, that’s why I left 35 years ago. When the big push came to pump more export cargo through the Port of Tauranga and the Port extensions at Sulphur Point became a reality half the Population of Auckland and congestion followed. Then the real squeeze came on to housing and all the property prices went to $1m. The problem with that is you have a lot 60s houses on a subdivided blocks worth supposedly worth $1m and a building only worth 100-150k. The Council are taking your profit every year in rates. But the biggest concern for all the residents in the BOP is the fact that your free spending (unelected?) Tauranga City Council has borrowed monies from the European Central Banks. Huge mistake. These people are the Rothschilds Rockefellers and BlackRock’s of this world. They like to lend money to Organisations that free spend and don’t know how to manage money. That is because they want to own you. You know what happens when you default on a loan from these Banks? they ask for collateral. In other words, if the Council default on their loan or loans those Banks will be coming after your property, yes, your property the Council own nothing all the infrastructure belongs to the Nation as a whole. Because by simply paying Rates you are in agreeance with what the Council does. At the next Council meeting why don’t you all ask the Council if they are keeping up with their loans. They will just feed you BS of course but if it was me, I would be more than just a little bit concerned. One day might come where own nothing, and you will be very very unhappy.