Papamoa's planned alternative arterial road Te Okuroa Drive will not be four-laned earlier than planned because of fears it could jeopardise hopes to bring forward construction of Papamoa East's $25 million interchange with the Tauranga Eastern Link.
The rapid pace of development at Papamoa East centred on Wairakei putting pressure on the council to start construction of the interchange earlier than the planned date of 2025.
Yesterday's meeting of the council was considering a request by developer Zariba Properties to spend an additional $1.4 million on four-laning Te Okuroa Drive from Parton Rd to the Boulevard.
But the council was persuaded that Te Okuroa Drive might not need to be four-laned when the interchange was built, with the added possibility that the four-laning threatened the case for substantial subsidies from the New Zealand Transport Agency.
The interchange was to be built between Wairakei and the planned Te Tumu subdivision, and would extend housing all the way to Kaituna River.