Twin 60mm steel cables, each weighing 24 tonnes, have recently been installed at the Mt Messenger Cableway.

Cableway ready to roll as Te Ara o Te Ata: Mt Messenger Bypass gathers momentum

The cableway for Te Ara o Te Ata: Mt Messenger Bypass will begin transporting equipment and workers into the heart of the new State Highway 3 route in the coming weeks.

Final preparations are underway now for the 1.1km structure that will enable the Mt Messenger Alliance to start work north of the entrance to the project's 235m tunnel.

"The cableway is a great innovation that will allow us to begin work in this remote area of the project much sooner than would otherwise have been possible," says Caleb Perry, Senior Project Manager.

Recent activity has seen a helicopter employed to help place the structure's twin 60mm track cables, which run between a 28m central tower at the summit of Mt Messenger and two anchor points to the north and south.

Goods and people will be carried between the central tower and the north anchor point.

Elsewhere earthworks continue at the southern end of the project with one of the first cuttings, and the passage of the future bypass, now becoming visible - as pictured below. 

The project's site office is now open, bringing the entire Mt Messenger Alliance team together under one roof. This is an exciting step that strengthens the connections among all arms of the project, including construction, ecology and our iwi partner.

The project's environmental work aims to boost populations of threatened native species.

Great progress for Mt Messenger pest control, with further measures planned

The groundbreaking pest control programme for Te Ara o Te Ata: Mt Messenger Bypass has made great strides in the project’s early months.

Since last August, the Mt Messenger Alliance team has created more than 70km of a targeted 250km of pest management tracks, and fitted 850 bait stations in damaged forest around the new section of State Highway 3.

In addition, more than 170 wild goats have been culled from the project area and the adjacent Parininihi block.

Predators such as rats, stoats and possums have seriously impaired the mature native forest surrounding the route of the future 6km bypass, and the wildlife that lives in that habitat says Alliance lead ecologist Roger MacGibbon.

“Our pest management programme will support the forest’s recovery from this damage and provide an environment where threatened species such as kiwi, fern birds, kōkako and long-tailed bats can thrive once more.”

The achievements to date will be enhanced further this winter with an aerial application of pesticide over the project area and the nearby Parininihi, in a joint operation with the Department of Conservation. Engagement with nearby landowners is now underway.

Delivered at regular intervals in the area since 1992, the aerial application of cereal pellets containing biodegradable 1080 toxin is the only viable pest control method in large, remote, forest-covered, and rugged areas.

Given the high tree canopy of this forest, an aerial treatment is necessary to achieve the required reductions in pest numbers, particularly of rats.

The aerial work is supported by project partner Ngāti Tama, as kaitiaki and mana whenua committed to safeguarding the life expectancy and reproduction of taonga species in the project area and Parininihi.

The project’s enduring pest management commitment over 3,650 hectares is part of a broader environmental programme for Te Ara o Te Ata, which seeks to leave the area in a better condition than its current state.

The programme will also deliver large areas of restoration planting, to offset the native vegetation removed to build the road and lessen the effects of construction on the local ecology.

Thirty-two hectares of forest, wetland and riparian planting will be undertaken, comprising approximately 120,000 plants. A further 100,000-plus plants will be planted along the roadside margins and embankments, with all seedlings grown from locally sourced seed.

Through these environmental efforts Waka Kotahi and Ngāti Tama aim to achieve significant improvements in biodiversity within 10 to 15 years of completing the bypass.

Surfacing at the Awakino Tunnel Bypass is now complete.

Surfacing complete at Awakino Tunnel Bypass

Travellers on SH3 will now benefit from the completed surfacing works at the Awakino Tunnel Bypass. Traffic signals have been removed, the temporary speed limit has been lifted and the passing lane is open.

The SH3 Awakino Tunnel Bypass project incorporates a new rest area and a walkway beneath one of the new bridges to the closed tunnel. The history of the area is shown on the storyboards along the walkway.

With the tunnel now closed and no longer a need to stop at or pass through the tunnel, the journey reduces travel time and improves safety on SH3.

More information

For more information on the Awakino Gorge to Mt Messenger Programme, contact us at SH3@nzta.govt.nz

Visit our website www.nzta.govt.nz/a2mm