Under the watchful eye of Safety Manager Karol Brooks, children from Park Estate Road School were excited to get out in the fresh air and visit the Papakura to Drury worksite to look at some big machines

Engineers and digger drivers of the future?

Some 25 students and teachers from the Park Estate Road School were escorted across the Park Estate Bridge to check out the Fulton Hogan work site and get a good look at the piling machinery.  They asked lots of questions – especially 'can I have a go?' (the answer was no!) and they learned the machines are there to build the first half of a brand-new Park Estate Bridge, with the work expected to take 18 months.  The school will be moving to a new home on the western side of Park Estate Road Bridge in 2022.

Before leaving the school grounds, the children had a safety briefing (below left) with Safety Manager Karol Brooks, before being led through the site (below right) by Traffic Supervisor (STMS), Dinesh Kumar.  They were assisted by Graduate Engineers Caitlin McLennan, Emma Mabin and Fynn Riddick who work either day or night shift on the project site during the week.

Progress on the western side

On the western side of the Park Road Estate Bridge (see below), it has taken around one month to install 46 caged piles up to 19m deep.  They now sit ready to be 'formed' and poured with concrete then tied together with a capping beam.  This area will form the new road approach to the first half of the brand-new Park Estate Road Bridge.

Monitoring equipment vibration beside Park Estate Road

Environment and monitoring vibration

Irwin Mathias (above left) is the Environmental Manager for the Papakura to Drury Project and his job is to monitor and observe noise and vibration on site.  Here at Park Estate Road he has worked with the experts to discover that the best method for piling is a mixture of drilling the hole first and then vibrating the pile down into the ground.  This is best because it helps minimise as much as possible the vibration that neighbours may feel.

Irwin says, "I work closely with the stakeholder engagement team who have been on site since March, talking to the neighbours about the huge amount of work required to build a new bridge.  We restrict night activities as much as possible to lessen the disturbance for our neighbours - who I have found to be patient and wonderful to work with."

"Management of the environment requires co-ordination and having a deeper understanding of risk, and also identifying where opportunities exist.  I enjoy working with the site teams to promote and support leadership of us being good neighbours, which forms part of our 'licence to operate' in the community.  Ensuring that environmental risks are managed in a timely manner and with good forward planning helps to ensure that we can complete the project on time and return the environment back to its natural state as far as possible.

"My job also involves ensuring that our discharges to waterways are controlled, and that the waste material taken off site is well separated and doesn’t end up in a landfill if it can be recycled or reused."

Partnership with Mana Whenua

A key part of kick-off for the project is our monthly early morning Cultural Induction, the first of which was held on 8 June in the Drury Hall.

Martin Te Moni (Ngāti Whanaunga) and Kathleen Wilson (Te Ākitai Waiohua) treated the crew to some fascinating aspects of our local history and showed us how mana whenua values are integral to the project and protecting the environment.

Blessing our new site office at 25 Tegal Road, Drury

The entire project team was involved in the dawn blessing of our new project site office on the morning of 18 June, led by Paora Puru (Ngāti Te Ata Waiohua), Martin Te Moni (Ngāti Whanaunga) and Kathleen Wilson (Te Ākitai Waiohua).

The team was led around the building touching every surface to spread and embody the essence of our team wairua, and to ensure the space was safe and protected for the duration of our project journey.  This was followed by Mihimihi / speeches. Much laughter was then had over the warm food and team bonding.  It was a truly special event.

Our site office is now open on weekdays between 9am and 5pm for members of the community and stakeholders to drop in with any enquiries they may have regarding the current construction works.

Looking ahead

Over the coming months we will be:

• investigating underground services
• carrying out piling and retaining works at Park Estate Road bridge
• removing vegetation on Park Estate Road and alongside the southbound lanes of SH1 between Papakura interchange and Park Estate Road bridge
• building haul roads on both the northbound and southbound sides of SH1 behind the steel barriers
• preparing noise wall installation.

Background information

The SH1 Papakura to Drury project is part of the NZ Upgrade Programme.

The first stage of construction covers works within the existing motorway boundaries from the north side of Papakura interchange to the south side of the Drury motorway service centre.

Key features of this first stage include:

• An additional third lane in each direction and wide shoulders for future bus services
• The replacement of the Park Estate Road overbridge
• A new noise wall on the eastern side of the motorway between Papakura Interchange and Park Estate Road
• The upgrade of three culverts crossing under the motorway between Papakura Interchange and Park Estate Road
• Treatment of all stormwater coming off the motorway (as currently there is none).

Additional works to follow in the next stage once consented also include:

• A walking and cycling pathway along the western side of the motorway
• Interchange improvements at Papakura (a new southbound on-ramp) and Drury (to allow for railway electrification and additional rail lines)
• The replacement of the Bremner Road (Jesmond) overbridge and the Ngakoroa Stream bridge.

For more information on the SH1 Papakura to Drury project, visit the website on www.nzta.govt.nz/p2b

Contact us

For further information regarding the project please contact our team:

• P: 0800 796 796 - for construction-related queries
• P: 0800 741 722 - for general project queries
• E: p2b@nzta.govt.nz
• W: www.nzta.govt.nz/p2b

You can also visit the Papakura to Drury project site office at 25 Tegal Road, Drury, during business hours (weekdays 9am - 5pm).