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TREC Hawke's Bay recovery update |
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15 November 2024 |
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Tēnā koe, TREC continues to deliver a busy recovery programme alongside local contractors, with work in full swing during the warm dry weather. In this fortnight’s update, we highlight work achieved during the recent Devil’s Elbow night closures, look at some of our recently completed sites, and showcase work beginning on the rail line between Palmerston North and Napier. |
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Join us at the Pūtōrino community meetingPlease join us and NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA) in Pūtōrino to hear the latest on our current and future work programme and ask your questions about work on the state highways. Waikare & Districts Sports Centre | Wednesday 20 November, 6pm–7pm We look forward to seeing you there!
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Devil’s Elbow night closures updateDuring last week’s night closures on SH2 Devil’s Elbow we completed all the preparation work at the Devil’s Corner site (Project I) ready to start repairing the large underslip and build a retaining wall below the road. Project I is a large recovery project that is scheduled to be completed by Christmas 2025. During the night works we widened the single lane, put down new asphalt, drainage, new barriers and cleared the slopes above the road. This has made space for the crews and machinery to safely access the worksite while road users safely travel through the tight corner. One change you may have noticed on the south side of the corner is the installation of a temporary water control device. This ‘bump’ is covering a new culvert to divert water away from the excavation site for Project I, helping to protect the site and the workers. We also used the night closures to complete work on other Devil’s Elbow projects and the Waikoau Hill South underslip repair, the last recovery project in that section of SH2. Thanks for your patience while we completed this essential work. During the closures, work at Devil’s Corner widened the single lane to allow enough safe space for people driving and machinery to access the site. |
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Rail recovery ramping up this monthThe TREC alliance was set up to deliver the recovery of state highways and rail damaged by Cyclone Gabrielle. Recovery work to the rail corridor between Palmerston North and Napier is programmed to begin this month. There are 23 sites to be repaired before June 2025. Rail site repairs are similar to state highway repairs. They include debris clearing, rock revetments around bridges, bulk earthworks to stabilise slippage, and soil stabilisation using soil nails, shotcrete (sprayed liquid concrete), and geo fabrics. Freight trains will continue to run during repairs, with nearly half of the work being done by ‘HiRails’, which are regular road vehicles that have been converted to be able to drive on both the road, and the rail. Some work will also be done on the weekends to minimise the impact for freight. Leading up to Christmas we are planning to start work at four of these sites, located in Ashhurst, just north of Dannevirke, at Kopua south of Takapau. The three Ormondville Viaduct damage repair sites, which are on the slopes around the bridge, are programmed to begin in February 2025. |
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Abseilers’ work crucial at Dillon’s Hill sheet pileOur teams have completed a gnarly job on SH5 at Dillon’s Hill sheet pile retaining wall and are now onto repairing Dillon’s Hill Culvert. The photos below show the reality of repairing a sheet pile retaining wall on a sheer drop. Skilled abseilers with civil construction experience have been essential for many of these steep recovery sites in Hawke’s Bay. Cyclone damage left the edges and toe (the bottom front part) of the 30 metre long by 6.9m metre high wall worn away and potentially weakened. The repairs involved clearing/trimming plants and debris, rebuilding the worn ends of the wall, adding erosion control mats, and fixing the drainage. The slope was stabilised using hydroseeding (a slurry of grass seed and mulch sprayed onto the area) which helps control dust, erosion, and sediment runoff. Dillon’s Hill sheet pile retaining wall damage (before), abseilers working (during), and the grass seed sprayed on by the ‘hydroseeding’ taking seed during spring (after). |
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400 tonnes of large rocks prevent erosion at Ben Lomond BridgeWork has recently been completed to repair and strengthen the Ben Lomond Bridge on SH50 between Maraekākaho and Tikokino. The bridge was built in 1973 across the Maraekākaho river. The large volume of water during Cyclone Gabrielle and other storms wore away the riverbanks opposite the northern pier. This had the potential to undermine the abutment piles (ends of the bridge where it rejoins the hillside) compromising the bridge’s structural integrity. Repairs include geofabric (the white fabric seen in the photo) which prevents erosion, and 400 tonnes of riprap (large rocks) on top of this. These large riprap rocks placed along the edge act like a shield. They absorb the force of the water, protecting the soil and keeping the riverbank intact, which in turns protects the bridge’s foundations. The ‘during’ photo shows the geofabric in place as well as an orange silt fence protecting the stream while work was underway. |
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Highway HighlightsSH5 Napier to Taupō
SH2, SH50, SH51 Hawke’s Bay South
SH2 Hawke’s Bay North
SH2 Devil’s Elbow (see map below)
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Before and afterWaikoau Hill South underslip Soil nails were drilled into the hillside and sprayed with shotcrete (sprayed liquid concrete) on this very steep site. Skilled abseilers were essential to successfully recover and stablise this underslip. |
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Your questions answeredWhy is the Bailey bridge across Waikari River louder than it used to be? In early October 2024 we completed routine maintenance on the Waikare Bailey bridge and replaced the deck to improve traction. The flexible steel support structure with the new NiuDeck panels is resulting in some increased noise, which some drivers have found disconcerting. It’s not uncommon for Bailey bridges to be noisy as there are many steel components working together so the bridge can flex under loads. The engineers are looking at ways to reduce this noise, however an unintended benefit of the noise is that people stick to the 10km/hr limit while crossing. This helps to ensure the longevity of this vital bridge until we have a permanent solution. The Bailey bridge is regularly monitored and maintained - your safety and connectivity are central to our bridge maintenance plan. Further maintenance activities from time to time will be done in a way to minimise as much disruption as possible.
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Whakapā mai – Get in touchIf you spot an issue at a work site after hours, call 0800 4 HIGHWAYS (0800 444449). Sign-up to receive these regular newsletters:
Local road network |
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