Work has begun to realign a stretch of road which is a well known black-spot.
A section of State Highway 33, halfway between Rotorua and Paengaroa, is being realigned in a bid to make it safer.
Diggers and bulldozers have already started moving material from the Pareteiro hillside to form the new road with construction currently being undertaken away from public view from SH33.
New Zealand Transport Agency Bay of Plenty state highways manager Brett Gliddon said this project would help to improve safety and reduce travel times along this section of SH33.
"The section of SH33 where the work is being undertaken is known as the Sun Valley Curves in the Pareteiro area and is a historic crash black spot.''