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.
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