This month at Te Ara Tupua

This month we reached a big milestone on the project with the final precast concrete X Bloc ® placed near Karanga Point. With close to 7000 X Bloc ® units placed along the 4.5km length of the project, this is a massive achievement.

Progress Update

The team have been going strong through September. Read on to see what we've been up to this month.

culvert outlet amongst the X Bloc ® revetment

All the culverts are installed now as well, and we are doing the finishing work around them such as the manholes. There are 27 culverts of various sizes and complexity along the alignment and it has been a significant amount of work to complete them all. Four of the culverts are for streams, Waihinahina Stream that flows down from Horokiwi Quarry, Gilberd Bush Stream that flows down from Gilberd Bush in Newlands and two unnamed streams that are not always present but flow in periods of heavy rainfall. The other culverts are for drainage to manage rainwater runoff from the road and rail.

The seaward steel spans are now installed and work is underway on the bridge deck and approach ramps at each end. Over Labour Weekend, the power lines for the rail will be lowered and then the final two concrete piers will be installed. The central section that will connect the two approaches over the rail will be delivered in December. We will need to close a section of lane on SH2 to facilitate this so the deliveries will be done at night to minimise the impact of traffic.

Future Bridge Builders

Recently, the Te Ara Tupua Alliance team went to Wellington High School for a fun afternoon with the Emerging Scientists group. These are students with a strong interest in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) subjects. The students were broken into teams and given the same materials to build a model bridge, being 100 popsicle sticks, a glue gun, a stick of glue and the rubber band that went around the popsicle sticks.

These models were then tested against the same criteria – it needed to be 400mm across, could a Hot Wheels car get across it and could it withstand 5kg of downward pressure. There were some innovative designs, one using a Da Vinci design, and our Bridge Engineer, Peter, was hard pressed to pick a clear winner.

It was great to see such an engaged group of students. Maybe we’ll see one or two of them working on our projects in a few years.

We love meeting the communities around our project. If you would like us to come and speak to your club, school, or group, please reach out to us through our Communications Manager, Belinda – belinda.mackenzie-dodds@te-ara-tupua.co.nz

The Tāwharau Pods on the move...

The Tāwharau pods are buildings that were used to communicate project information, hold community events, and a whare whakairo (carving studio). Until now they have been in a temporary location at entrance of Honiana Te Puni Reserve. Last week the buildings were moved to their permanent location.

As part of the regeneration of Honiana Te Puni Reserve, the permanent location includes decking, a shade canopy between the two pods, and a taonga (sculpture) to reflect the rich cultural heritage of this area and to acknowledge the kaitiaki (guardians) of this whenua (land) –Taranaki Whānui ki Te Upoko o Te Ika.

People of the Project

Meet Peter Harrison, Project Engineer. Peter has been with the project for two and a half years, starting in the staging for Piki Wahine which is where he got his nickname “Piki Pete”. He’s now looking after the installation of the bridge.

Originally from Liverpool, Peter studied Engineering at Edinburgh University before finding his way here to Wellington.

Peter says that the thing he loves the most about the project is its complexity. There’s never a dull moment building in such a challenging environment.

“It’s very different to my work in the UK”, he says. “I’ve really enjoyed learning how Alliances work and about the construction industry here in New Zealand.”

He likes that the project is very visible too, and that it is for the benefit of the community. He’s proud of the legacy the project will leave and will very much enjoy being able to point at the bridge and tell people he was part of the team that built it.

If you look carefully, you'll spot Peter in the Future Bridge Builders story too, as he lent his expertise to judging the models for the students.

About us

The Ngā Ūranga ki Pito-One section of Te Ara Tupua is a project to provide better resilience to transport links between Wellington and Lower Hutt, with new walking and cycling choices.

It has been developed in partnership between NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi, Taranaki Whānui ki Te Upoko o Te Ika and Ngāti Toa Rangatira, alongside local councils.

It is being delivered by Te Ara Tupua Alliance, made up of NZTA, Tonkin + Taylor, Downer NZ, and HEB Construction. 

More information

For more information on the Te Ara Tupua project, contact us at TeAraTupua@nzta.govt.nz

Visit our website www.nzta.govt.nz/TeAraTupua