Bay Link Project Update: Winter/Spring 2021 - Part One

We trust you and your whānau are keeping safe and well.

Construction on the Bay Link project has been progressing well in recent months. We’re pleased to share these developments with you over two editions of the project update, over the coming week. Read more below or click here for a PDF version of part one of the project update.

With the recent changes in the COVID-19 Alert Levels, Waka Kotahi paused all non-essential maintenance and project work, including construction on Bay Link. Work has resumed on many physical state highway maintenance activities and capital works projects throughout the country.

Please remember, our project helpline - 0508 222 4636 – remains operational at all alert levels if you have any queries about the Bay Link project.

If you are travelling, please be patient and respectful and look out for road workers.

Southern bridges take shape

Beams on the second of Bay Link's three bridges were successfully installed in July.

To enable construction of the new bridge at Te Maunga, State Highway 2 (SH2) was closed between Bayfair roundabout and the Te Maunga intersection during a weekend in July. During the closure, 10 reinforced concrete beams (each 26 metres long and weighing 47 tonnes) were placed across SH2 by a 350 tonne crane positioned in the middle of the state highway.

With the project team working day and night, placement of the bridge beams was completed ahead of schedule, allowing the early re-opening of the state highway and minimising the impact of the closure on motorists’ weekend travel.

Following placement of the beams, the concrete deck has since been poured. This involved 17 trucks carrying 100m3 of concrete, and 35 tonnes of reinforcing steel.

The SH2 bridge area will now lay dormant until the majority of expected earth settlement has occurred – a process which is anticipated to take around three months.

This is the second bridge to be constructed on the project in the last six months after the first bridge, spanning the East Coast Main Trunk railway line, was constructed in February. The settlement period for the area near the rail bridge is nearing completion, meaning work (on the final sections of the deck, kerbing, footpaths and barriers) will soon resume.

The entire interchange at Te Maunga (comprised of the SH2 bridge and the rail bridge) is anticipated to open this coming summer under temporary traffic management. The temporary signals currently located at Te Maunga will be decommissioned at this time.

Once operational, the interchange will carry all SH29A traffic to and from SH2, removing the need for motorists to cross the railway line at grade and improving traffic flow onto the Tauranga Eastern Link. When the project is completed, the finished interchange will transform the intersection of the two state highways and improve safety for all road users.

A third bridge (the Bayfair flyover) will span the Bayfair roundabout at the project’s northern end.

View timelapse footage of the construction of Bay Link’s first two bridges here.

Images below:

1. Beams being installed on the SH2 bridge at Te Maunga in July

2. Beams being placed on the rail bridge at Te Maunga in February

New underpass progresses

Construction of the new pedestrian and cyclist underpass is progressing following the completion of ground improvements near Bayfair Shopping Centre earlier this year.

The new underpass, which is being built in the same location as the former underpass, will have two separate reinforced concrete entrance portals and closed box sections located on the Bayfair and Matapihi sides of SH2. These will be connected by an open-air trench located under the new flyover bridge.

The Bayfair and Matapihi portals and box sections are nearing completion, after which the focus will turn to the construction of the entrance ways, stairs and ramps. The underpass entrance portals are approximately 3 metres wide and 2.5 metres high - similar dimensions to the former underpass. The Bayfair side of the underpass is approximately 18 metres long and the Matapihi side is approximately 12 metres.

To accommodate the underpass, the Bayfair flyover requires an additional bridge span, taking it from a three to a four-span bridge. The open-air trench, located beneath the new bridge span, will be approximately 4 metres wide and 50-60 metres long with sloping sides.

Once construction of the underpass entrances is completed later this year, traffic will be switched onto permanent lanes over the top of the box sections. This will allow for construction of the open-air trench and the northern ramp of the Bayfair flyover in the middle of SH2.

As part of the planning for the new underpass design, a balanced approach towards safety and usage was required. A key consideration for the new underpass is providing safe shared use for both pedestrians and cyclists, alongside the need for personal safety for all users.

The new underpass is scheduled to open for use on completion of the project.

You can read more about progress on the underpass in this recent media release.
 

Images below:

Artist’s impressions of the cycling and pedestrian underpass.

1. View of the open-air trench
2. View from the Bayfair end
3. View from the Matapihi end

More information

For more information on the Baypark to Bayfair Link upgrade project, contact us baylink@nzta.govt.nz

Visit our website www.nzta.govt.nz/baylink