An aerial view of the Huntly section taken this week looking south over the Mangawara Stream bridge towards Gordonton Road interchange.

October 2017

Earth-moving teams working on the Hamilton and Huntly sections of the Waikato Expressway are hoping for a long, dry summer and autumn so they can make good progress.

Some ground was lost last summer on the both sections which are major components in Waikato’s biggest ever infrastructure project, the 102km Waikato Expressway.

The Huntly project began in 2015 and required 3.5 million m3 of earth to move. Now there is just 1.3 million m3 left. The Hamilton section has 2.6 million m3 to move after 1 million m3 was shifted in the first year.

Since the start of the earthworks season on 1 October the big machinery has been rolling on to both sites.

The final section to start construction, Longswamp, is also now well under way, while the finishing touches go on Rangiriri ahead of an opening event in December.

The expressway project has a sizeable community of followers. To join them and keep in touch “like” the Waikato Expressway Facebook page (10,500 others already have).
For more information about the project and to sign up to updates section by section visit the overall project website

Here's a view this week of widening work at Longswamp - on the left is Wayside Road which is now closed to SH1 and on the right is the Rodda Road extension.

Longswamp

The 5.9km Longswamp section sits between the Rangiriri and Mercer sections and involves four-laning the existing road. This will be a construction zone til completion in early 2019.

There is a 70km/h limit for all traffic in the works area for the safety of road users and the construction crews. Thanks for your continued patience.

The new south-bound lanes are being built first, and when they are finished next year all traffic will be diverted on to those lanes while the new north-bound lanes are constructed. Earthworks and drainage works are being done in preparation for the pavement stage.

The Paddy Road overbridge has taken shape over winter with piles and piers in place, and lately the blockwork abutment walls are nearing completion.

This bridge is a key part in strengthening the local road network for people moving between the interchanges at Hampton Downs and Te Kauwhata to properties at Rodda Road, Hall Road, Paddy Road and Whangamarino Road.

Find out more about the project here

High above the Rangiriri section, from Te Kauwhata interchange looking south.

Rangiriri

The main focus on the 4.8km Rangiriri section is building a symbolic reinterpretation of the Rangiriri Paa – a project within the project.

The old SH1 cutting through the paa site has been filled in and the site developed in a representative way, recognising its importance in New Zealand’s history as the site of the 1863 Battle of Rangiriri.

The paa will provide a space for continued education and contemplation about the battle and subsequent invasion of the Waikato.

We are planning a major public event to mark the completion of the Rangiriri work in December.

Meanwhile some minor finishing works continue, remembering that traffic has been on this section (all four lanes and 100km/h) since Easter.

Find out more about the project here

Looking down on the Taupiri Pass where a 57-metre cutting is required.

Huntly

After an October 2015 start we are coming up to the halfway stage on the 15.2km Huntly project.

The structures crew have made good progress on the bridges, despite high stream levels over winter. Two of the nine bridges are now open to construction traffic and five are under construction.

The big earth-moving gear is back after a winter break when some of it went to Kaikorua to help with the SH1 rebuild after last year’s earthquake.

There’s still plenty to do at the Taupiri Pass where a 57-metre cutting is needed to get the grades right for traffic. Check out a two-year edit – from the start of earthworks in November 2015 until September this year here The contractors have taken 35 metres off so far and have 500,000 cubic metres of earth and rock to go.

Go to the website to watch the latest video flyover, new aerial photos and the October project update.

Looking along the Hamilton section at the Osborne Road bridge and Resolution Drive interchange earthworks.

Hamilton

The CityEdge Alliance team have also had a focus on bridge-building over the wet winter.

Upcoming milestones include the opening of the SH26-Morrinsville Road overbridge in November and the Gordonton Road overbridge in December.

Most of the Hamilton local road bridges will go over the expressway which gets dug out below. One of the exceptions, where the expressway goes up and over, is the railway/Ryburn Road/Ruakura Road bridge which is now being used to take construction traffic over the roads and railway line. Dumptrucks are crossing the bridge hauling sand north for embankment construction.

The Ryburn Extension Road is open, and that’s the new route to the site office and visitor centre as Percival Road has been closed at the expressway boundary.

Plenty is happening at the southern end of the project, with the East-West Link bridge almost ready for the concrete deck pour and the Cambridge Road on-ramp bridge piling is complete as excavation continues.

At the Mangaone/Mangaharakeke Bridge, access tracks are being completed to allow stream works to begin, while the Mangaonua Bridge haul road bridge is in place and piling under way.

Don’t forget the Visitor Centre at the site office is open 10am-3pm weekdays; 9am-12 noon first Saturday of the month.

There’s a new aerial flyover on the website and you can find this and more here

Construction is due for completion in 2020.

More information

For more information on the Waikato Expressway, contact us at waikatoexpressway@nzta.govt.nz

Visit our website www.nzta.govt.nz/waikato-expressway