Project update

10 June 2024

Work continues creating access for crews and heavy machinery to the southern entrance of the project's 235-metre tunnel.

Great progress at project's three main work zones

At the end of our second construction season, we’ve made great inroads across our three main current workzones.

The Mt Messenger Alliance team has now completed 184,000 cubic metres of earthworks - around 15% of the overall amount expected for the project.

In recent weeks, on the south side of Mt Messenger, we’ve continued to push towards the site of the future 125m bridge and have been establishing a site for excavated rock and other material that’s unsuitable to be used as structural fill for this new section of State Highway 3.

As with all our sites, we need to make sure this area is fully contained to protect nearby waterways during high rainfall, which requires a great deal of care and attention to erosion and sediment control safeguards.

Further north, we’re steadily building up Fill 13 to create access for the big machinery to get to the future 235m tunnel. In the coming weeks, we’re aiming to set up an outpost at the tunnel's southern entrance ready for tunnellers to begin excavations later this year.

At the summit of Mt Messenger, the cableway has been proving its worth, transporting plant and material as part of our enabling work to start bulk fill of our biggest fill site - Fill 12 - after winter.

Winter is not an ideal time for road construction, but we’re aiming to continue operations over the coming months to maintain our overall progress. We’ll be taking great care to look after our teams, along with the environment as we lay the foundations for our 2024-25 construction season.

Drive the Bypass!

Experience how it will feel to drive Te Ara o Te Ata – Mt Messenger Bypass with this new simulation on the project website!

Hydroseeding a great solution for stability and erosion control on project's steep and remote areas

In the construction industry, hydroseeding is one of the most frequently used methods to stabilise areas, preventing erosion and sediment generation.

The process involves mixing specific quantities of mulch (sometimes recycled wood fibre) with grass seed, fertiliser, water and dye. This slurry is then sprayed onto areas which require grass strike.

At Te Ara o Te Ata, many of the areas requiring stabilisation are very steep and hard to access, making hydroseeding the perfect solution.

As the project will need to complete a lot of hydroseeding, the Mt Messenger Alliance has purchased its own hydroseeder which arrived on site a few weeks ago. The team has completed an initial training session and made some upgrades to the unit to make it safer to use and transport into our most inaccessible areas – including via the cableway.

The goal is to achieve more stabilised areas in shorter periods of time, increasing the efficiency and effectiveness of our erosion and sediment control on site.

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.