Tauranga residents were asked to work from home today to avoid traffic congestion.

A failed stormwater drain caused a cavity underneath State Highway 29A, forcing the road to close near Oropi.

NTZA acting Bay of Plenty maintenance and operations manager, Roger Brady, says he's hoping the road will open tomorrow morning.

"We're hugely fortunate in that that piece of road wasn't constrained by services, there were no water pipes running down the side of it, there were no gas pipelines, there were no streets in the way."

A lane of Totara St was also closed, and should reopen tomorrow.

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