Project update

5 September 2025

The temporary staging structure, from which the project's 125m permanent bridge will be constructed.

Bridgebuilding and tunnelling through winter

With major earthworks still under wraps for winter, bridgebuilding and tunnelling have been the project's major focus over recent weeks.

At the southern base of Mt Messenger, a 110m-long temporary staging bridge was completed in July and we’ve been making more preparations to build the permanent 125m bridge. Excavation work is underway on the abutments, and steel girders are being manufactured at a workshop in Napier.

Further north along the new route, tunnelling is going well, with the team powering through their milestones and now well past the halfway point of excavating the top section. A view from inside the tunnel entrance is featured below.

Breakthrough of the 6.5m-high top section is due at the end of October or early November, and we’ll then pull back and excavate the 2.5m-high bottom section. By March 2026 we aim to have completed the full excavation of the 235m-long tunnel.

The team is gearing up for the new construction season from the start of October and looking forward to resuming earthworks in Zone 3 on the northern side of Mt Messenger.

Cut 11, at the northern outlet of the tunnel, is about three-quarters complete and Cut 10, visible from the existing SH3, is a quarter of the way through. The area between, known as Fill 12, will ultimately use 600,000m3 of fill material.

We also have enabling work scheduled at Zone 1 where the new road will tie in to State Highway 3 at the northern end of the project area.

Locations of the project's construction zones, the major cuts and fill areas, as well as the tunnel and bridges are shown in the map below.

Tāngata Tiaki Whetu o te Rangi (left) with Graduate Engineer Emily and Senior Environment Advisor Steph, with Year 4 and 5 students at Huirangi School.

Taking the project to schools

Some of our project team members have been aiming to inspire the next generation of roadbuilders with school visits.

The project has been visiting local schools since 2022, initially focusing on pest management and environmental work, then adjusting our presentations as road construction ramps up.

These latest STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics)-based sessions aim to get young people excited about the road construction industry by telling stories about our careers and what happens each day on the project.

We’re being met with great enthusiasm and plenty of questions – on everything from the largest animals we’ve encountered on site, to what’s involved in eco-minded bridgebuilding. The students then get to take part in small challenges where they put some key construction skills to the test.

We’re looking forward to continuing our work with local schools as the project progresses – and hopefully enthusing some future roadbuilders.

From an egg uplifted by project ecologists, 'Peni' is getting big and strong ahead of being returned to bush near the project area, when he's about 1kg and considered large enough to fend off predators.

Kiwi protection work continues

The kiwi breeding season started a little later this year and is now well underway.

The project currently has 3 males incubating eggs nearby, all nests being well away from active construction areas.

From eggs uplifted by our ecologists, there are 8 young kiwi being raised at Wairakei Creche and one at the National Kiwi Hatchery. They’ll be released into a pest-controlled part of the nearby Parininihi in the coming months, when large enough to fend for themselves against predators.

In the last few weeks, alongside Tiaki Te Mauri O Parininihi Trust, we’ve released 6 young kiwi: Nibbles, Tarakona, Tutu, Hebe, Horopito and Rimu.

More information

For more information on Te Ara o Te Ata: Mt Messenger Bypass, please visit our website, email SH3@nzta.govt.nz or call 0800 BYPASS.