Project update

16 August 2024

A 43-metre crane is helping the team with ground improvement works at the southern base of Mt Messenger.

Construction update – tunnel preparations continue

Welcome to our latest project newsletter. Over the past few months, we’ve been working through a reduced winter programme and have maintained good progress.

Deep in the gully north of the cableway tower, we’ve begun work on the portal face at the northern entrance of the future 235-metre tunnel. A tricky operation saw the team safely remove the precariously placed wreck of an old car which had crashed over the side of the road several years ago (see photo below).

South of the cableway tower, we’ve been building up a ramp to bring in heavy tunnelling equipment and preparing a site base for the specialist crew that will start tunnel excavations later this year.

A big development of the last few weeks has come in the massive shape of a 43m tall, 280-tonne crane, which is helping with ground improvement work at the southern base of Mt Messenger. We’re pushing across to the future site of the project's 125m bridge and installing concrete piles as we go. The crane is able to lift excavated material clear and bring in steel cages to reinforce the piles.

Another highly visible addition at the southern end of the project area is a new disposal site/laydown area. Equipment and supplies for the tunnel operation will be temporary stockpiled here, while excess soil and material will find a more permanent home.

We’ve added an extra lane to the highway so traffic can keep moving while trucks wait to access the site and over the coming weeks erosion and sediment controls will be completed to safeguard nearby waterways.

Collective environmental focus continues

The project’s partnership with mana whenua, Ngāti Tama is the cornerstone of our environmental programme, drawing on local expertise and respect for the ancestral lands of the iwi. Our team of environmental experts are always busy with a range of activities, supported and assisted by Ngāti Tama.

The project's 3,650ha Pest Management Area is serviced by a 250km network of tracks and traps which need constant maintenance and checking. Our ecologists have been out and about between - and in - rain storms, monitoring flora and fauna across the project, while our erosion and sediment control experts have been checking and rechecking to ensure our worksites are secure with no dirty runoff into waterways.

A recent high point has been the release of Lachy (pictured below), a kiwi chick hatched from an egg lifted in the project and raised at a specialist facility in Taupō. Survival of chicks in the wild with no predator control is less than 5% and our team is excited to be part of the work protecting these precious taonga.

Awards recognise great works to date

The Te Ara o Te Ata project is delighted to have collected a couple of industry awards over the first two seasons of construction.

Most recently the team received international recognition, being named Transportation Project of the Year award at the Environmental Analyst Sustainability Delivery Awards – highlighting a commitment to sustainability and collaboration, and the work we’re doing to build the new road while enhancing the surrounding environment. You can read the associated media release here.

This time last year, Alliance subcontractor Independent Crane Services received the Crane Association of New Zealand’s prestigious Project of the Year Award, recognising the team's meticulous planning and flawless execution during the lifting into place of the 28-metre tower legs of the project’s groundbreaking cableway structure (pictured below).

The 1.1km cableway is an integral part of our plan to create a safer and more resilient 6km section of State Highway 3 in North Taranaki, carrying workers and equipment into the remote heart of the project.

Check out our video series

We've recently started a video series on our project website, Facebook and LinkedIn pages, spotlighting some of the great people across the project.

It takes a plethora of skills, disciplines and experience to deliver a major piece of infrastructure like Te Ara o Te Ata and we hope the series can provide an interesting, behind the scenes look at the works and people involved.

Our most recent ‘video star’ is Earthworks Superintendent Andy Searancke (pictured below), who has spent more than four decades in road construction, starting on a scraper at the tender age of 17.

More information

For more information on Te Ara o Te Ata: Mt Messenger Bypass, please visit our website, email SH3@nzta.govt.nz or call 0800 BYPASS.