O Mahurangi project update

30 July 2025

Tower Crane by the Wēiti River

What's happening in August

State Highway 1 and Ara Weiti Road

SH1 will see night closures from Sunday 10  to Thursday 14 August, so please plan ahead. During the closure, the SH1 overbridge will have its barriers 'stitched' into place as they are concreted to the bridge deck, whilst stormwater pipes are installed under the bridge. 

Bridge 3 at the future Link Road 1 will start the bridge foundation, whilst the reataining wall by Link Road 2 is having the precast concrete panels installed.

Earthworks and pavement construction continues around Ara Weiti Road and East Coast Road. 

Stillwater

At the end of July you will have seen the tower crane being constructed on site. This means we will start the bridge 'super structure' in August and is a significant milestone for the project.

The first concrete pours on Pier 4, the river pylons on the eastern side of the river, is starting this month. We are continuing the future Duck Creek Road interchange construciton as Aucland Transport has completed the widening works around 'turkey bend'. 

Whangaparāoa 

In early August for 4 to 5 days we will be using a helicopter to lift a geotechnical drill into postion near the river. There will be 4 lifts over an hour for each of the days. 

We are beginning earthworks for the new Whangaparāoa Road alignment on the eastern corner of Whangaparāoa and Cedar Terrace. The future realigned instersection at Beverley Road will also have road surface, kerb and channel and footpath construction from mid-August. 

Drainage next to Whangaparāoa Road will continue to be installed at night which was previously delayed due to weather. 

Concrete trucks lining up for the first pour on Pier 3

Piling to construct the Wēiti River bridge

Over the last 10 months the piling team down at the Wēiti River bridge has been kept very busy. 

The piles are the foundation below the ground and riverbed that will support the bridge above the ground. The piles are drilled up to 40 metres into the ground to support the weight of the bridge and the traffic it will carry, ensuring a safe and resilient structure. 

The temporary staging platform we use to build the bridge has had 160 temporary staging piles installed, with 2,289 metres of temporary steel casing so far! There will be more staging piles to install in the future to help us install and remove form travellers.  Form travellers are used to help us build the superstructure (permanenet bridge). 

For the permanent bridge structure itself, the team has bored 147 piles, with 5 more to go on the eastern side of the alignment for Abutment B, that's 2,148 metres drilled to date. When the permanent piles are drilled and a circular steel casing is installed, we further strengthen it by placing cages of reinforcing steel inside before we pour the concrete. 903 tonnes of steel reinforcement cages have been used to support 3,660m³ of concrete so far. 

First containers at the Transitional Facility

Protecting our borders

How do you manage around 100 shipping containers arriving from overseas with specialised steel construction equipment which will be used to build the Wēiti River bridge?

At O Mahurangi we will be receiving at least 8 containers every month for the next year and a half. To help manage this mammoth task we have worked with MPI to build a Biosecurity Transitional Facility (TF), which will speed up the clearance and biosecurity process. 

To operate, 5 of our team were trained and certified as TF Operators or Accredited Persons to help manage the site, and open and clear the containers. Wider Biosecurity Awareness training has also been provided for our staff accessing the restricted site. 

This planning and preparation is key to protecting New Zealand's borders from pest species.

Some of the team planting at Shakespear Regional Park

Planting at Shakespear Regional Park

The end of this month saw the completion of planting at Shakespear Regional Park. This work was part of the project's offset mitigation strategy to ensure there is no net loss of biodiversity. 

158,412 plants were added to the park across 30 hectares in just over a month! This has advanced Auckland Council's plans for the Shakespear Open Sanctuary habitat by approximately 15 years. A great outcome for the biodiversity of the park and creating a pest-free haven for native species. 

O Mahurangi team members receiving the ISC design accreditation (clockwise: Hannah, Petra, Bridget, Alina, Liz, Josh and Kenny)

Infrastructure Sustainability Accreditation

The O Mahurangi Penlink project has received an excellence level rating from the Infrastructure Sustainability Council (ISC) for our design phase. 

The ISC rating tool has helped the project to challenge the team to explore initiatives that have led to more efficient, carbon reducing,  and cost-effective alternatives to business-as-usual approaches.

Driving a sustainability culture on site has meant we have diverted waste whilst finding more efficient construction methodologies.

More information

For more information on the O Mahurangi project, contact us at omahurangi@nzta.govt.nz or by calling 0800 7365 465.

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