The night crew hand-laying concrete around realigned off-ramp guardrails.

Less disturbance at night

With traffic successfully shifted in towards the central median last month, the need for nightly road closures is reducing moving forward, which will be much appreciated by our neighbouring residents and communities.

However, some work can only be undertaken at night when the motorway is closed, so night work will need to continue on an 'as required' basis moving forward.

A recent example was the temporary relocation of the Papakura Interchange off-ramp to create more space for day-time pavement works.  Moving the ramp wasn't simply a case of laying new asphalt - new pavement had to be built up, guardrails and steel barriers relocated, and streetlights moved.

Another example was the temporary relocation of guardrails and minor lane realignment to the off-ramp leading into the BP motorway service centre.

Earthworks underway for the new southbound on-ramp beside Beach Road.

We're 'digging' this project!

In addition to constructing a new third lane in both directions on the motorway,a new southbound on-ramp at Beach Road is being built.

Our site compound near Beach Road has been relocated slightly south to make way for the next stage of motorway widening and the new southbound on-ramp.  We have been removing earth that is unsuitable for building pavement on.  We dig down to the natural ground level (see photo above) and then start building up the pavement in layers.

Drainage and pavement building works for the new on-ramp have now started, and over the coming months the ramp will continue to take shape as it gets built up by up to 3.5m to tie into the height of Beach Road. Once the fill material has been added, it needs to sit for up to six months while it settles – following which the final pavement, utilities and barrier works can commence.

With up to seven crews working on the southbound side of the motorway between Beach Road and Park Estate Bridge, managing these works is a full-time job for the supervisors on site. At the beginning of each day, everyone working in this area discusses their plans for the day and most importantly, discusses any changes to what’s been scheduled and previously communicated.

Manhole installation is one of many operations being carried out daily on site.

One of the practical exercises during our Safety Day was a simulated crushing incident where groups had to come up with an emergency response action plan.

Safety first, no exceptions

Our project team held a Safety Day in October with everyone downing tools for a morning to get together and remind ourselves that keeping people safe is always our number one priority.

Our morning involved safety briefings and updates, quizzes and the presentation of safety awards at Drury Hall and then four practical workshops back at the project office.  Our workshop themes were: working at heights; emergency response, understanding blind spots (for operators of large plant); and site documentation including the risk control plan.

Fulton Hogan's project manager Ash Mitchell said, "Unfortunately the construction industry tends to see a spike of health and safety related incidents in the lead up to Christmas. The Safety Day was a chance for the team to get together to discuss some of the project's critical risks, and to pause and reflect on the importance of working safely for both our staff and the public. It was great to see everyone get fully involved in the range of safety activities. There's a great bunch of people delivering this project."

Where possible, removed guardrails are used for temporary works or, as shown here, safely stored for future re-use.

Reusing to reduce

Sustainable practices are front and centre in all phases of planning, designing and building the Papakura to Drury project.

We're always looking for ways to minimise waste and re-use materials where possible and appropriate.  One example of this is the removal of over 1.7 kms of guardrails along the current length of the project.  Rather than scrapping them, the team has managed to re-use some of these guardrails temporarily in other places on the northbound side of the motorway.

With five traffic switch phases planned on the project (we're currently on number two), it makes sense to reuse rather than replace guardrails in temporary locations where possible.  Other guardrails have been returned to Waka Kotahi to be reused on the wider motorway network as replacement parts for when barriers are damaged.

Drury update

Our NIMT bridges site at Drury is now well-established, where we are building three new motorway bridges over the railway lines.

We have three work fronts at Drury Interchange - located on Karaka Reserve, on Flanagan Road, and also in between the northbound off-ramp and the northbound motorway lanes, as seen in the image above.

During the month, we started piling works on the southern (Flanagan Road) side of the first two bridges on the eastern side of the motorway, meaning we are progressing piles on both sides of the railway lines.  The piles being installed are 1.2m in diameter and typically 26m in length.

The bridge that will in the future carry all north and southbound motorway lanes is being built immediately beside of the Drury southbound on-ramp.  Most of the piles for this bridge will be installed during the day, but a small number closest to the on-ramp need to installed at night for safety reasons.  All piles for the bridge that will form the new southbound on-ramp will be done during the day.

It's a different story on the other side of the motorway - the bridge (Bridge 3) that will carry the future Drury northbound off-ramp is tucked tightly in between the existing off-ramp and the northbound motorway lanes.  There simply isn't the room available to build most this bridge safely during the day, meaning much of it must be done at night with either partial or full northbound motorway closures in place.  However we will take every opportunity to do what can be done at this site when the sun is up.

Pile driving on Karaka Reserve behind a large wooden hoarding that provides solid separation between the project's bridge building works and the railway lines.

E haere ake nei | Looking ahead

During the coming months at Papakura, we will be:

• widening the motorway on the southbound side
• building three new culverts crossing under the motorway
• building a new southbound on-ramp at Papakura Interchange
• building retaining walls on both sides of the motorway
• relocating and upgrading services
• building a new bridge over the motorway at Park Estate Road
• widening Park Estate Road both sides of the bridge and building a new footpath and cycle path.

Our works at Drury will include:

• bridge piling on Bridges 1 & 2 at Flanagan Road and Karaka Reserve
• bridge piling on Bridge 3 between the Drury northbound off-ramp and northbound motorway lanes, beginning in November.

Whakapā mai | Contact us

For further information regarding the project please contact our team:

P: 0800 796 796 or text 027 703 5284 - for construction-related queries
P: 0800 741 722 - for general project queries
E: p2b@nzta.govt.nz
W: www.nzta.govt.nz/p2b

You can also visit the Papakura to Drury project site office at 25 Tegal Road, Drury, during normal business hours (weekdays 8am-5pm). 

Ngā mihi | Kind regards

The SH1 Papakura to Drury team