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Takitimu North LinkContractor’s newsletter - Te karere a te kaikirimana |
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8 May 2025 |
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Community open day at the Bethlehem Hall in March. Successful summer season sees huge progress / Nā te angitu o te kaupeka raumati he nui ngā kokengaTakitimu North Link Stage 1 has had another huge construction season, supported by a long, warm and dry summer, with progress becoming increasingly visible across the 6.8km of this new 4-lane expressway between Tauranga and Te Puna. Other recent highlights include hosting a community open day - which is one of our regular engagement events, and a visit from the Minister of Transport, Hon Chris Bishop. We’re also looking ahead to the winter months when earthworks wind down but building structures continues with 6 bridges currently in construction, and the planting programme ramping up. He kaupeka hanganga whakahara anō mō Te Ara o Takitimu ki te Raki, nā te raumati roa, mahana, maroke hoki, otirā kua mārakerake te kitea o ngā mahi puta noa i te 6.8km o tēnei ara matua, e whā reina i waenga i a Tauranga me Te Puna. Ko ētahi atu hirahiratanga i ngā wiki kua taha atu, ko te hautūtanga o tētahi rā hapori - tētahi o ā mātou taiopenga whai wāhi auau, me te taenga mai o te Minita o te Manatū Waka a Hōnore Chris Bishop. E anga whakamua ana mātou ki ngā marama o te takurua, i te wā ka iti haere ngā keringa whenua, engari ka haere tonu ngā mahi hanga, otirā e ono ngā arawhiti e hangaia ana i te wā nei, tae atu ki te hōtaka whakatō tipu e piki haere ana. |
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Progress update – take a flight over the Takitimu North Link site
View our latest flyover video of the project site starting at SH2/Fifteenth Ave in Tauranga, westward to Te Puna, with commentary by Structures Project Engineer, Darcy Gallagher.
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Great to see you at the Open DayView a video of the event here. It was awesome to see a great turnout at the community open day on Saturday 29 March. 370 people came along to meet with our teams working on Stages 1 and 2 of the project, as well as learn about Tauriko Enabling Works underway. We were happy to be able to answer lots of great questions and share experiences working on these major infrastructure projects supporting growth in the western Bay of Plenty. People were most interested in construction progress, tolling, Stage 2 of the project including how the 2 stages will tie together, and the planting programme. Information on these topics can be found on the project webpage, or you can view the information boards that were on display at the Open Day. |
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Piling progress at SH2/Fifteenth Ave bridge siteGetting big machinery to our worksites is one of the logistical challenges we face when working on a project this size. This photo shows the 280-tonne crane arriving at our SH2/Fifteenth Ave site in Tauranga, before piling got underway in March. Cranes of this size get transported without the tracks, however due to the tight workspace at Fifteenth Ave, the tracks were installed at our Takitimu Drive worksite and then transported to site. The team working here are now well underway with piling, building the new bridge connection from SH2 to SH29 towards Tauriko. If you’re passing through this area, you’ll also notice progress on the large retaining wall and road widening work underway at the existing on-ramp heading towards Fifteenth Ave from SH29. Read more about work in this area here. |
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Welcoming Minister, Te Paerangi, NZTA Project Managers to siteAs the construction season comes to an end, we’ve had several special guests visit the site keen to get a firsthand look at the progress. These visits prompt great discussions about how large infrastructure projects deliver the massive and multi-discipline programme of work required to achieve great outcomes. |
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Minister of Transport, Hon Chris Bishop, and Tauranga MP Sam Uffindell visited the Takitimu North Link project. |
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Local hapū group, Te Paerangi took the opportunity to visit the site and share some positive feedback/kōrero with the project team. They described the day as awesome – getting a firsthand look at the current progress happening on the project, ask questions and share stories from the area. |
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In March, NZTA Project Directors from around Aotearoa New Zealand attended a training seminar and site visit at the Takitimu North Link project. Pictured on the Wairoa River Bridge deck with the river immediately behind the team and Cambridge Road in the distance. |
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Candice inspired by careers expoCandice Pretorious wasn’t really sure what she wanted to do for a career when she attended a Careers in Infrastructure expo for secondary schools held at the Takitimu North Link project site in June 2024. At the time she was a Year 13 Tauranga Girls’ College student and thought something around accounting would suit her and was interested in what that looked like in an infrastructure setting. Candice says, “I visited all the stalls and was surprised there were so many career options. I spent some time talking to the Survey team but then I visited the stall the Commercial team were at. I was very interested in the information they had available, and they were really engaging and good to talk to.” Candice was interested in work experience and asked on the day if she could get some further insights as to what the job involved. “They took my details and rang me to ask if I wanted to do a day of work experience in August. I really enjoyed it and was really inspired as I thought with accounting I’d be sitting in an office in town. It never occurred to me that I could be working in a site office on a major construction project.” In December Candice was offered a one-day a week role as an accounting intern to gain work experience and started in January 2025. “My first day I got to go out on site, the job is very diverse with something different every day.” “This is also my first time in an office environment because I had previously worked in retail. I was a bit intimidated, but everyone has been so kind and supportive, and I’ve learnt that you can still have fun in a professional environment.” Since leaving Tauranga Girls’ last year, Candice is now studying accounting at Toi Ohomai Institute of Technology and is in the first year of a 3-year degree. She works at the project site on Fridays. “It’s great because I am working in the area I am studying in and the things I learn at school I can put into practice here, so I am benefiting in that way as well.” “I’ve done so much. Going on site to see work being done, making sure equipment is correct for the project to run smoothly as well as doing the traditional tasks like debits, credits, invoicing and budgets.” “It’s not just figures, there are huge consequences if you muck up so there’s more of an imperative to get things right.” Candice’s advice to students is to take advantage of the open days and visit every stall because something might spike your interest, just like it did for her. There are 275 people working on the Takitimu North Link project, and more than 2478 people have been inducted and worked in various project areas to date. The 2025 Careers in Infrastructure expo will be held at the Takitimu North Link project site in Te Puna on 25 July. The expo is for secondary school students years 10 to 13 and students attending training and alternative education organisations. Please email info@takitimunorthlink.co.nz if you would like more information. Samantha Gedson, Takitimu North Link Accountant (left) and Candice Pretorious, accounting intern. |
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Project updatesThe western tie-in is the point where Takitimu North Link Stage 1 ends and Stage 2 begins. We’re looking further at the connection between the 2 stages and the design and sequencing of this given Stage 2 will be construction ready at the end of 2027, and its interaction with Stage 1 at completion in 2028. The design for the SH2/Loop Road intersection is currently under review and expected to be finished mid-2025. As part of this, we are completing some enabling works early, including building a wider culvert (pictured) to fit Stage 2. |
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The Minden Road roundabouts are 85% complete with a second layer of asphalt to be laid in May when the streetlights will be turned on. Landscape planting will be done next winter and the rest of the works for Minden Road will start later in 2025. |
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The team at the Wairoa Awa (River) Bridge site are preparing the deck for their next concrete pour. The deck area you can see is 140 metres long out of the 355 metres in total length which is scheduled for completion in 2026. More beams will arrive over the winter months. |
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The SH29/Takitimu Drive Flyover Bridge is progressing well. This bridge will be 6.5 metres above the new expressway, with the final beams arriving mid-2025. |
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At SH2/Fifteenth Ave, the soil nail retaining wall is well underway. The next stage involves capping the soil nails to protect them from the environment. |
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This 280-tonne crane on the side of SH29 below Fifteenth Ave has started piling for the bridge connection. To date they have driven 2 of the 9 piles required for this bridge to depths of just over 40 metres each. This is the final bridge on the project to be started. In this photo you will see the 1-metre markers on the pile, this is an easy visual for the team to see how far down the pile has been driven.
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Latest photosPiling at Fifteenth Ave. |
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SH29/Takitimu Drive Toll Road Interchange. |
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Smiths Farm Bridge looking towards SH29. |
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Wairoa to Te Mete Valley. |
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Feedback welcomeWhat would you like to see more of in this project newsletter? Let us know at info@takitimunorthlink.co.nz. |
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More information |
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Read more and sign up for updates about the project at:
Takitimu North Link Stage 1 Project Team
Phone - waea ki 0800 865 776 |
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