Cut 13 – the largest cut in the project – is shaping up nicely.

Earthworks' second season now under way

Our first earthworks season concluded in early October, with over 650,000 cubic metres of earth moved since construction began in January. Thanks to a relatively mild winter and a seamless COVID-19 shutdown and restart, we have started our second earthworks season in a strong position.

During Level 4 the site had to close except for essential maintenance. With our safety plans in place to keep everyone on the project safe, we were one of the first major projects to restart on the first day of Level 3. The site is fully operational under Level 2.

A big focus this year has been creating access to the areas where the highway will go. A lot of this work is nearing completion, including access tracks at the western end of the alignment, in the Meridian wind farm area, and a haul road between Cook Road and Morgan Road. With access largely in place across the site, the focus this year is on moving a lot of dirt. We have already moved over 10% of the project’s total and by the end of this earthworks season we plan to have moved around half of the project’s total earthworks.

Te Ahu a Turanga is one of the largest earthworks projects in the country. We currently have around 120 pieces of large machinery onsite, including a Wabco 353 elevating scraper – one of the largest scrapers in the world (see below). This will be primarily used at the Woodville end of the alignment.

At Parahaki Bridge, temporary staging from the south bank to the north bank is complete and we are working with KiwiRail on a permit for the construction of a retaining wall. Further along at the Eco Bridge, the quest to solve the puzzle of extremely high artesian water pressure at a shallow depth continues. Preliminary activities to de-pressurise the aquifer have been added to the programme and we’re co-ordinating the design and consenting efforts to find workable solutions.

Glancing around the rest of the project, good progress is being made with our smaller structures, including the Morgan Road Underpass. The purpose-built laboratory that will test all the soil and materials used on the highway is almost complete, and the ecology team has been busy with vegetation clearance, stream diversions and lizard habitat searches.

Part of our planting work includes fencing to keep stock out of wetland areas.

Landscaping team reaches planting milestone

The landscaping team has been out in all weather through winter, and has met their goal of getting close to 250,000 native plants in the ground at two farm sites before the warmer weather arrives.

This planting is part of the project’s ecological offset commitment, to leave the wider area better than we found it. Over the course of the project around 1.8 million plants will be planted. This will require a constant source of seed collecting and plant raising, and we’re well under way with getting our plants ready for next year.

Around 630,000 plants are growing at a number of nurseries and seeds are being carefully collected from the ecological region for the project, in a process called eco-sourcing. This will ensure as many plants as possible are grown from seed sourced from the project area.

Next year, 40,000 plants will be planted along the highway alignment and we’ll also be starting stream diversion planting. The pest control network that spans a 300ha area of the Manawatū Northern Scenic Reserve and QEII areas is now 100% complete and the team have started the first round of trap setting and bait filling, which will continue for the next five years.

Testing is taking place on the Parahaki Bridge lead rubber bearings.

Bridge bearings tested by American specialists

To assist with the construction of the Parahaki Bridge, across the Manawatū River, we have engaged with specialists at the University of San Diego in California, USA.

The university team are testing the bridge’s large, lead rubber bearings to ensure they can stand up to the force of large earthquakes. Lead rubber bearings form a key part of the Parahaki Bridge design.

They will be placed at the top of the piers at the bridge abutments, giving the bridge resilience to wind and heat, and – if an earthquake strikes - they will cushion the impact by giving the bridge controlled flex.

Similar technology has been used at Te Papa and Parliament buildings in Wellington.

The Wabco 353 being transported on the back of a truck on the Saddle Road.

World’s largest elevated scraper used for earthworks

Te Ahu a Turanga’s sub-alliance partner, Goodman Contractors, has recently brought in a Wabco 353 to help with the earthworks over the summer season.

The Wabco 353 is the biggest elevating scraper in the Southern Hemisphere and one of the largest scrapers in the world.

It has arrived onsite and is expected to be working on the project at the Woodville end.

Progress on Zone 4 at the Woodville end of the highway.

Drone flyover shows highway progress to date

You can see the latest progress by checking out our drone footage, which spans the entire 11.5km length of the highway. The flyover is on our website at nzta.govt.nz/projects/te-ahu-a-turanga/

Unfortunately, our Visitor Centre on Napier Road in Ashhurst is currently closed due to COVID-19 restrictions. We will continue to provide you with regular updates through this newsletter, our website and the Waka Kotahi Central North Island Facebook page.

More information

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