31 May 2023

Welcome | Nau mai, haere mai

Welcome | Nau mai, haere mai to the May | Mei edition of the O Mahurangi - Penlink newsletter. This month we'll cover the latest construction progress, learn about a major power pole installation, provide an update on tolling, meet our dedicated Digital Team, recap our recent community drop-in session, and invite you to participate in our stakeholder satisfaction survey.

Construction progress looking towards the Wēiti River.

Construction through Changing Seasons

Even with the weather cooling down, our construction crew is staying busy. The earthworks season finished at the end of April – where we moved a total 59k of soil for the season. Minor works that will proceed throughout the winter period include building access tracks and site access points, ground improvements and tree felling.

You may have seen teams clearing trees along East Coast Road this month. The clearing along this road is a a two stage process due to the proximity of the overhead power lines running through the area. The second phase will commence once the power lines are relocated in the newly installed ducts along East Coast Road.

Test pits were dug on sections of Ara Wēiti Road and Whangaparāoa Road as part of geotechnical investigations. When you dig a test pit, you make a shallow hole in the pavement to expose the soil and geological formations. This allows the geotechnical experts to assess the ground for the upcoming road works and see if it's suitable. The information gathered from the test pits ensures the infrastructure is built safely and effectively.

Gecko spotlighting and rehoming work finished at the end of April. Updated totals of 357 critters found are as follows: 193 plague skinks, 51 ornate skinks, 96 geckos (forest and elegant), and 17 copper skinks.

Works start on the west side of the Wēiti River in June to build out the western temporary platform and will finish in December of this year. A 280 tonne crane will be used to carry out these works and build a temporary platform that is 243m in length. Click here for a visualisation of the western temporary platform works. Click here for a visualisation of the overall Wēiti Bridge construction timeline.

To see more progress photos, head to our website's photo gallery.

The crane used to move the power pole weighed 250 tonnes.

Major Power Pole Placement

This month, the Duck Creek Road team was busy preparing to underground existing overhead power lines and install new power poles. This was time-sensitive work necessary for the Wēiti Bridge's earthworks to begin. The overhead lines needed to be removed to carry out the bridge works safely and efficiently.

Over three full-on weekends, a team of 50 people were on site building the underground infrastructure and dismantling the existing overheads poles and lines. This included trenching and drilling activities to install new service ducts beneath the ground. Two new terminal power poles were also installed. The largest of the two power poles was 18.5 metres long and weighed 8.4 tonnes.

To avoid doing significant earthworks needed to create an access road and lifting platform, the decision was made to lift from an existing platform using a much larger, 250 tonne mobile crane to carry out the job. Once on site, the crane installed the new large power pole at a reach of 43 metres. The pole was anchored into the ground using a 4.8 metre long reinforced concrete pile, ensuring its stability and functionality.

Although there is more power relocation work ahead, completion of this section was critical to keeping the project on schedule.

O Mahurangi – Penlink to be tolled

Early this month the Minister of Transport released a statement confirming that O Mahurangi - Penlink will be tolled to support the costs of maintaining and operating the new two-lane state highway between Whangaparāoa Peninsula and State Highway 1 at Redvale.

You can read the announcement here.

In early 2022, the community provided feedback on the proposal to toll O Mahurangi-Penlink. Thank you to those who took the time to provide us with feedback.

We received an overwhelming response of 3,337 submissions and included these submissions in a comprehensive tolling proposal for the Government’s consideration and decision making. To address feedback received, Waka Kotahi amended the tolling proposal by:

• Reducing toll price by 25 percent for end-to-end peak trips.
• Removing proposed Stillwater Interchange toll point to reduce the number of toll points from three to two.

Following the recommendation from Cabinet for O Mahurangi-Penlink to be a toll road, an Order in Council will be drafted and made to the Governor-General. Prior to the road opening, the Order of Council will be signed to establish O Mahurangi-Penlink as a toll road.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. What will the toll be used for? Toll revenue will be for road maintenance and operations. This includes regular and periodic road maintenance, bridge inspections and road resurfacing as well as periodic bridge maintenance and repairs. Toll operating revenue is the amount retained by Waka Kotahi to operate the toll business. This pays for the personnel costs, transaction charges (i.e., bank charges), depreciation, information technology support, maintenance and upgrades and other operating costs.
2. How is tolling different from the Regional Fuel Tax? Tolling for O Mahurangi – Penlink specifically covers the maintenance and operations costs of the new road. The Regional Fuel Tax in Auckland helps Auckland Council progress and fund specific transport projects as per the Auckland Transport Alignment Project. As part of Auckland Council’s Long Term Plan, in 2021 it adjusted the RFT scheme to no longer include O Mahurangi – Penlink. The money was reallocated to other investments. View the updated Order in Council. O Mahurangi – Penlink has not received any funding from the RFT since 2020, when Waka Kotahi took over the project as part of NZ Upgrade Programme which is Crown funded.
3. How much will it cost for me to travel O Mahurangi - Penlink? O Mahurangi – Penlink will use variable tolling, which means different toll prices for off-peak and peak hours. Variable tolling helps people make choices about the time they travel, and therefore the toll price they pay. You can still access free alternative routes if you do not want to pay the toll. Use this table to find the exact toll price.
4. Where can I find the results of the consultation from 2022? Many suggestions were made by respondents including lower and/or flat toll prices, fewer tolling points, peak and off-peak toll price changes, concession rates for residents and frequent users of the highway. There was an overwhelming response to the tolling consultation with 3,337 responses from the community and stakeholders. 37% (1,235 people) supported tolling O Mahurangi – Penlink. This was made up of 20.5 percent supporting is as proposed and 16.5 percent supporting tolling but with changes to the proposal. 60% (2,002) of respondents did not support tolling. The full consultation report will be made available on the website shortly.
5. Has Waka Kotahi considered the nearby planned developments in the toll modelling? Yes. The toll modelling considered growth in the Wēiti Precinct, Milldale, Dairy Flat and other future developments.

Read more Frequently Asked Questions on our website or email us your questions at omahurangi@nzta.govt.nz. More information will be released shortly on the project website.

The Digital Team visiting the Duck Creek Road construction site. Back row, left to right: Chris, Wesley, Aaron, Aubrey, and Tom. Front row, left to right: Krishna, Iftikar, Amy, and Jo.

Staff Spotlight: Digital Team

The O Mahurangi - Penlink Digital Team is also known as the Digital Engineering Team. They work together to come up with new ideas and find solutions using technology. They use computers and software to create and test their ideas in a virtual environment.

Aaron is the GIS Manager. He is in charge of a system called GIS, which stands for Geographic Information System. GIS helps with maps and geography. He also works with others to make tasks easier and faster using technology.

Amy is a GIS Specialist. She has helped the Utilities team with location and map information, called geospatial data. She now supports the Geotechnical, Ecology, and Planting teams. She collects data and uses it to create maps and analyse information. These maps enhance understanding, communicate information, and support decision-making.

Aubrey is the CAD Lead, which stands for Computer-Aided Design. He uses CAD software to design and create drawings for the project. CAD software helps him work faster and produce better designs with fewer mistakes.

Chris provides Digital Engineering (Technical) leadership. He also handles coordination for different parts of the project using a system called BIM. BIM stands for Building Information Modeling. BIM helps find problems, like clashes, between different elements early on in the design and construction process. It also helps them visually communicate the design plans. Chris uses BIM throughout the project's stages, from design to construction to operation.

Iftikar is the Digital Team Lead. He ensures smooth operations throughout the Digital Team. Iftikar manages the daily activities of the team and focuses on project delivery.

Jo is a Spatial Consultant in the GIS team. Jo focuses on producing construction design drafts. The drafts are for the Lighting and Intelligent Transport Systems teams. Jo's drafts show how to construct the team's design. She also produces drafts for the Ecology and Geotechnical teams.

Krishna is the BIM Specialist who maximises the benefits of BIM. He improves construction productivity and project performance. He collaborates across many teams to explore and install digital construction ideas. He also helps Tom and Chris in model coordination and Information Management.

Tom is an Information Manager. He ensures the project team can produce, manage, share and deliver information. He also manages the platforms and systems that store project information. This helps with asset management. Asset management ensures the project uses its assets well while keeping costs and risks low.

The community drop-in session was held at Stillwater Boat Club.

Recap: Community Drop-In Session at Stillwater

On Saturday, 13 May, the project team hosted a community drop-in session at the Stillwater Boat Club. Thank you to the 50-60 community members that stopped by to raise concerns or get answers on what’s happening with the project. Key topics discussed included tolling, Wēiti River Bridge work, Duck Creek Road connections, operational noise, timeline, and environmental impacts.

Tolling was as a common topic among the attendees because the Minister of Transport announced the tolling decision earlier this month. Read Frequently Asked Questions about tolling on our website or email us your questions at omahurangi@nzta.govt.nz.

Another topic was the various stages of building the Duck Creek Road connection. At the event, a video was on display showing the various stages of how the Duck Creek Road bridge will be built. A few community members requested the video to be available online so they could reference it after the event. The video is now available to watch online here.

Operational noise was also a concern raised during the drop-in session as local residents wanted to understand the measures in place to mitigate noise levels and prevent disturbance. The project team reassured the community we have updated our design to minimise noise as much as possible.

The community voiced concerns around impacts to the surrounding environment and native wildlife during construction. The project team noted that protecting the environment is a priority and we work closely with iwi and council to monitor and mitigate any impacts.

Our next drop-in session will be hosted on the Whangaparāoa side of the Wēiti River in a few months. Stay tuned for more details on that later.

Let Us Know What You Think

O Mahurangi – Penlink is now in the early works phase, where we are focused on timely communications to our neighbours living with and experiencing our activities. We’re also sharing regular and targeted updates in a range of ways with the wider community to build awareness of our progress. When main construction works start later this year, we’ll work more directly with landowners in the immediate area to minimise any impacts and resolve any issues or concerns.

Neighbours will be able to connect with our team ‘on the ground’ to know what to expect and when. Potential impacts will continue being communicated in advance, and we’ll be ready to answer any queries you may have. We are committed to working with you to get the best outcome for the project, our neighbours and the local community, leaving a positive legacy for future generations.

Currently, the O Mahurangi – Penlink Communications and Engagement Team is conducting a stakeholder satisfaction survey. This survey provides you with an opportunity to provide feedback on your experience with our communication strategy and engagement activities. The insights gathered through the survey will be used to refine our communication approach and address any concerns or suggestions from stakeholders. The survey is open until 16 June. We appreciate your feedback.

Take the survey here.

Read more on our communications strategy here.

For more information on the O Mahurangi - Penlink project, contact us on 0800 PENLINK (0800 7365 465) or at omahurangi@nzta.govt.nz

Visit our website: www.nzta.govt.nz/penlink