View online | Unsubscribe
 
banner
20 December 2021

 
Story

Kia ora and welcome to the latest newsletter on Te Ahu a Turanga: Manawatū Tararua Highway – the 11.5km route to reconnect the Manawatū, Tararua District, Hawke’s Bay and northern Wairarapa, replacing the closed State Highway 3 Manawatū Gorge route.

Story
     

Story

A view from inside the coffer dam at the Parahaki Bridge site.

Story
 
Story

Highway on track after first year of construction

As we approach the 12-month mark of construction on the Te Ahu a Turanga: Manawatū Tararua Highway project, it’s a good time to reflect on the many milestones achieved throughout the first year. 

2021 has thrown up plenty of challenges but, despite this, the team has made excellent progress and remains on programme. 

From January to October, more than 650,000 cubic metres of earth was moved. That figure has now grown to more than 1,000,000 cubes, with our millionth cube  moved on 19 November.

We are now in the second earthworks season, where the warmer, drier weather is expected to provide our earthmoving teams with greater opportunity to shift even higher volumes.

Steady progress is being made to the bridges and underpasses along the alignment. The first piles have been installed on the Parahaki Bridge, across the Manawatū River, which is a fantastic milestone.

Work also continues on the remaining wall of the Nutcracker Farm Underpass near the Ashhurst end of the highway. And at the Woodville end of the project, the Morgan Road Underpass has had its roof poured, which will enable the adjacent culvert to be constructed.

Our landscaping teams planted more than 250,000 native plants at two sites this year, as part of the project’s ecological offset planting programme.

Maintenance of these plants is under way and will continue for the next five years. Preparations are also under way for the 2022 season, with a total of 600,000 plants to be planted at three offset sites.

If you’re interested in seeing our progress, we are doing regular flyovers along the alignment. The latest videos can be viewed on our website:
nzta.govt.nz/projects/te-ahu-a-turanga/

As of December, more than 220 people are working on the project and we will continue to need people with a wide range of skills to join our team as the work progresses. To look at the latest jobs on offer, please head to:
nzta.govt.nz/projects/te-ahu-a-turanga/jobs/

The impact of COVID-19 continues to present challenges, as it has for all sectors, however we are working with stringent protocols in place to ensure we can keep our people safe and the project ontrack. These guidelines include mask wearing for all close interactions, usage of the NZ COVID Tracer app and our internal Who’s On Location app. We have also stationed Raukawa Māori Wardens at site entrances to monitor all movement across the alignment.

After a very busy year for the Te Ahu a Turanga whānau, the team will take a break from 23 December before resuming operations in early January. This will be the final newsletter for the year and we look forward to keeping you updated in the new year. On behalf of the Te Ahu a Turanga whānau, we wish you all a happy and safe holiday season.

Pictures below, from top, include: Earthworks at Cut 13, next to the Meridan Access Track, in Zone 2; One of the farm sites involved in the ecological offset planting programme; and an external view of the coffer dam at the Parahaki Bridge site. 

Story
 

Earthworks at Cut 13, next to the Meridan Access Track, in Zone 2

The landscaping team has been busy planting at nearby farm sites at part of Te Ahu a Turanga’s ecological offset programme.

An external view of the coffer dam at the Parahaki Bridge site.

 
Story

New laboratory provides faster results

Construction of a purpose-built testing laboratory on the Te Ahu a Turanga site was completed in November.

The lab, based near the site office on Napier Road, is the base of operations for the laboratory and field testing teams, which are responsible for analysing the six million cubic metres of earthworks, and subsequent paving, on the project.

To ensure the ground under the highway is safe for use, regular testing is performed along the alignment. There will likely be around 220,000 individual tests completed before the highway is completed.

Having this resource onsite allows the project team to have full control over testing, which provides quicker turnarounds for results from the range of areas being tested, such as earthworks, structures, pavement and surfacing. 

The lab team was incredibly patient and adaptable while the lab was built, working out of two shipping containers over winter before moving into their new space.

Below, Sandra Nicholls testing soil in the Te Ahu a Turanga laboratory. 

Story
 
Sandra Nicholls testing soil in the Te Ahu a Turanga laboratory.

Image
Story

Tararua District Mayor Tracey Collis tries out the Woodville Library’s Drive the Highway simulator, while the project’s Owner Interface Manager Grant Kauri looks on.

Story
 
Story

Drive the Highway simulator now in Woodville

People living or passing through the Tararua District can now ‘drive the highway’ from the comfort of the Woodville Library.

A Drive the Highway simulator, similar to the one in the Napier Road Visitor Centre, was recently installed in Woodville Library to give communities on both sides of the ranges a chance to check out what the highway will be like, once completed.

Our Visitor Centre remains closed for the time being due to COVID-19 protocols. This situation continues to be monitored and reviewed in line with the traffic light system and the project’s COVID-19 safety plans.

Waka Kotahi Owner Interface Manager Grant Kauri says: “We are grateful to Tararua District Council for their support in hosting the driving simulator in Woodville. The landscape is changing rapidly at the Woodville end of the highway alignment and the driving simulator will help people to visualise the end result.”

Taking the first drive on the simulator was Tararua District Mayor Tracey Collis, who says: “I would like to encourage people to come and see what the new highway will look like. The driving simulator gives a great impression of what to expect, and to get a feel for the transformation that will occur as a result of having a safe and resilient road, and the wealth of opportunity for employment, growth and business the new highway will create.”

Story
 

Image
Story

The Shared Use Path for Te Ahu a Turanga will run the length of the alignment between Ashhurst and Woodville.

Story
 
Story

Expressions of interest for Recreational Paths Fund

Anyone with plans to build a recreational path near the Te Ahu a Turanga: Manawatū Tararua Highway project is encouraged to share their ideas.

Waka Kotahi established the Recreational Paths Fund to enable the investigation and construction of recreational paths in the region, and to potentially connect them to the Te Ahu a Turanga Shared Use Path.  This fund is to help realise recreational and tourism aspirations for the region, and will be available until the new road is opened in late 2024.

Te Ahu a Turanga includes a Shared Use Path that runs the length of the highway, providing a new connection between Cambridge Avenue in Ashhurst and Hampson Street in Woodville. The path also includes a network of trails, which will provide access for walkers and mountain bikers.

Waka Kotahi want to hear from anyone with plans to build a recreational path. Interested parties will be able to discuss their plans at a hui at the Te Ahu a Turanga Project Site Office on 18 February 2022.

The intention of this hui is for people to introduce and share their plans with others in an interactive, constructive forum.

The Waka Kotahi team will be there to answer any questions and to discuss how the fund will be administered and how some proposals might be integrated or linked.  

Anyone interested in attending is asked to please contact Grant Kauri on grant.kauri@nzta.govt.nz or 021 342 956 to register.  

DATE: 18 February 2022
WHEN: 10am – 12pm
WHERE: Te Ahu a Turanga Alliance Project Office, 1600 Napier Road, Ashhurst

Story
 

Image
Story

UCOL graduate Emily Kang works as an engineering cadet at the Parahaki Bridge site.

Story
 
Story

UCOL and Te Ahu a Turanga celebrate partnership

A partnership between Te Ahu a Turanga and UCOL is providing local people with training and employment opportunities on a major infrastructure project.

The partnership was formed in late 2020 to provide graduates and students with experience, training and opportunities in the form of internships, apprenticeships and work placements.

Other features of the partnership include working together on an in-house Tikanga/Te Reo Māori programme, the provision of site visits for UCOL students to better understand a construction project of this scope, and Te Ahu a Turanga staff attending UCOL events, such as careers expos and open days.

UCOL graduates are now working in various roles throughout our project, including in the structures, environmental and construction teams.

In celebration of the partnership, UCOL Chief Executive Linda Sissons, Te Ahu a Turanga Project Director Tony Adams and Waka Kotahi Owner Interface Manager, Grant Kauri, signed a Statement of Intent recognising the partnership’s aims and intentions.

One UCOL graduate to find an opportunity through this partnership is Emily Kang, who is doing an engineering cadetship on the project, primarily based at the Parahaki Bridge site.

Ms Kang says: “Parahaki Bridge is an incredibly complex engineering project and I’m learning new things all the time. It’s going to be so impressive when it’s completed so to be part of the team working on such a cool structure is extremely rewarding.”

Story
 

 
Story

Let us know your thoughts

It’s important to us that the communities surrounding our project are getting the information they need, and feel engaged in what we’re doing. We'd appreciate it if you could spare a couple of minutes to do this short survey on our communications and public engagement activities.

Ngā mihi nui,

Jonathon Howe
Communiucations and Stakeholder Engagement Manager
Te Ahu a Turanga Alliance

Story
 

 
spacer

More information

spacer
 
 
Story

For more information, please use one or more of the following methods:

nzta.govt.nz/teahuaturanga

facebook.com/nztacni

twitter.com/wakakotahicni

0800 740 560

teahuaturanga@nzta.govt.nz

Story