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Welcome to the latest update on Te Ahu a Turanga: Manawatū Tararua Highway project; the proposed new route to connect the Manawatū, Tararua District, Hawke’s Bay and northern Wairarapa, to replace the closed State Highway 3 Manawatū Gorge route.

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Preferred tenderer selected for project

We have selected a consortium to deliver Te Ahu a Turanga: Manawatū Tararua Highway project - made up of Fulton Hogan, HEB Construction Limited, Aurecon Limited and WSP-Opus.

An interim project alliance between NZ Transport Agency and this consortium will now proceed to the delivery of the design, regional consenting, followed by forming a full project alliance for the construction phase of the project.

The project team is currently progressing the early enabling works consents to allow the construction of essential accesses, further investigative works, site laydown areas and fencing. The enabling works are scheduled to commence during the summer of 2019/20. The construction of the ‘main’ works is still programmed to begin in the summer of 2020/21, with completion of the project in 2024.

You can read our recent media announcement on the preferred alliance on our website.

Notice of Requirement

After public hearings in March, a Panel of Commissioners considered the Notice of Requirement for the transport corridor designation and recommended the project should proceed (subject to conditions). The panel’s report and conditions were issued on behalf of Palmerston North City, Tararua District and Manawatū District Councils in May 2019.

We considered the panel’s recommendations and generally accepted the proposed conditions. These conditions consider things like engagement and participation, construction management, ecological mitigations and noise and vibration.

We have, however, received appeals to the designation and are currently working with the appellants to understand their appeals and work towards a resolution.

The full documents are available at the Palmerston North City Council website.

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Our previous information sessions have been well attended.

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Upcoming information sessions

We are holding a series of information sessions so you can meet our new alliance and find out more details about the project. We will present information on the updated design, video footage of what we have been doing onsite as part of the pre-construction works and lots more.

The sessions will be held at:

Everybody is welcome to come along – we hope to see you there!

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There are many things we must do before we begin the project – including seed collection.

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Seed collection

Seed collection is an important part of pre-construction works for Te Ahu a Turanga: Manawatū Tararua Highway project. Watch our video above to find how we collect seeds and why.

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Roadworks in Manawatū and Tararua District

Recent roadworks on Saddle Road and the Ashhurst roundabout (pictured below) were completed earlier than planned recently – despite one full day of work lost due to bad weather – which demonstrates the commitment our contractors have to maintaining our alternative routes.

NZ Transport Agency regional transport systems manager Mark Owen says the early completion of works meant the planned Saturday closure of the Saddle Road westbound lane did not need to go ahead.

“We do our best to minimise road closures as we know these can be a significant disruption to people who use the roads regularly,” Mr Owen says.

“Our contractors did a great job completing the work to a high standard ahead of schedule, meaning that the road was fully open on Saturday.

“In the longer term, heavy vehicles will find it a lot easier navigating the Ashhurst roundabout.

“We’d also like to thank Ashhurst residents for their patience and understanding throughout these roadworks.”

We post upcoming road works on our NZ Transport Agency - Central North Island Facebook page each Friday.

You can follow this page to find out what’s planned in the region for the week ahead.

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Manawatū Gorge update

We have established a new project team to assess the future of the old road through the Manawatū Gorge. While it is certain it will never be a state highway again, we will work closely with iwi, councils and the Department of Conservation to develop a plan for this area. We will discuss this plan with the community when we can.

In the meantime, we continue to monitor the gorge and the current conditions are highly unstable. We have had accounts of people venturing past the barricades blocking the road. We strongly advise against this – it is not safe for people to be on the road. However, the walking tracks on the top of the gorge are still open and safe to use.

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More information

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If you have any questions or want to give us feedback, please drop us a line at teahuaturanga@nzta.govt.nz and we will get back to you within three working days, or you can call us on 0800 740 560.

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