Team work: Beca engineers Rhiannon and Georgia enjoy working on the SH2 Waihī to Ōmokoroa safety improvements

Collaboration key to success

Every day is different for two engineers helping deliver SH2 Waihī to Ōmokoroa safety improvements project, delivering on Aotearoa's Road to Zero strategy.

Tauranga engineers Rhiannon Robinson and Georgia Hayden, both of Beca, agree part of what makes the job incredibly rewarding is encountering challenges on site, and finding solutions through collaboration.

“It’s really a situation of never-ending learning where every day is different,” says Georgia, who is a designer for the widening works between Esdaile Road and Ōmokoroa Road, and roundabout and median barrier design.

“The project brings together so many disciplines like stormwater, geotechnical, pavements, barriers, and the contractors and designers all working together to ensure the best outcomes for people in this community,” she says.

Challenges of the project are keeping the road open in both directions, the steep terrain, limited road reserve and the ground conditions (soft, sensitive volcanic ashes and alluvial soils) of the area.

For Rhiannon, who works on retaining wall design and management, surveillance and quality assurance, there was a tricky instance of this recently. 

“At one of the retaining walls we encountered weak, saturated soils but then we were also hitting tree stumps which were preventing the timber poles from being able to be installed to their required depth,” she says.

“It meant we had to adjust both the design and construction in response, the problems needed to be resolved as quickly as possible. Everyone across the project team worked together to find solutions,” she says. Georgia said the team often wished they had ‘x-ray vision’ to anticipate the obstructions and all the underground services.

Rhiannon says the dynamic problem solving and co-operation is part of what makes the project so interesting to work on, as well as the reward of working on a project that is improving safety into the future.

“We heard from a couple who have lived on the SH2 Waihī to Ōmokoroa corridor for 15 years and no longer feel fearful and apprehensive when travelling on the road - this shows the value of having a road with upgraded safety standards,’ she says.

Rhiannon says it’s feedback like that which helps bring home how important the project is. “We can’t wait to complete this project and build on the benefits it is already bringing our community.”

Going underground: long-awaited power cable has arrived to enable removal of power poles at the SH2/Rea Road/Tetley Road intersections.

Winter works continue on safety improvements

Winter is with us with low temperatures and wet conditions meaning slow progress. However, the team remains focused on making the corridor safer while trying to keep delays to a minimum.

The project team needs to comply with some very clear rules for temporary traffic management on a state highway, and we appreciate road users will not always be able to understand the reason behind some of the changes in temporary speed limits. Available lane width is a big factor in this.

The project has temporary traffic management in place over multiple sites and, while this can cause driver frustration and impact on travel time, these controls keep road users and our work crews safe. The team appreciates your patience and the occasional friendly wave.

North of Katikati, work is progressing well on Section 4 - Athenree Road to Tanners Point Road with completion expected soon, so expect to see areas finished and the posted speed progressively reinstated.

This leaves only Section 5 - Tanners Point Road to Kauri Point Road to complete and work on this section has just begun and is expected to continue to late 2023.

South of Katikati, widening work is now mostly complete and the focus has shifted to construction of the six roundabouts, these being a precursor to the installation of median barrier.

Work is well underway on the new Tetley Road/Rea Road roundabout and works have commenced on the Morton Road roundabout.

At the Rea Road/Tetley Road intersection, traffic is now running on lower layers of the new southbound pavement and realignment of Tetley Road is almost complete. The recent shift of traffic now allows work to commence on the new northbound lanes and Rea Road.

The next step is construction of kerbs and the new roundabout island. Final pavement layers will follow. Weather permitting, work will be completed by late 2022.

Relocation of services and other early works has commenced at the Morton Road intersection with the main works due to commence this summer and go through to late 2023. Power is being undergrounded at the Esdaile Road/Pahoia Road intersection in preparation for a future roundabout.

In addition, highway maintenance teams are already planning and preparing for resurfacing of some of our completed sections of work this summer.

Groundwork: The younger generation got involved in planting for the future

Matariki planting at Waiau Wetland

Local hapū of Te Whānau a Tauwhao are re-establishing their kaitiakitanga (guardianship) as mana whenua, leading an environmental restoration project of 5.3 hectares of land in the Waiau Wetland near Athenree, in a bid to restore its once teeming environment.

The latest effort planted harakeke (flax), cabbage tree and manuka on Thursday 30 June, marking Matariki as an important time to undertake this kaupapa.

Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency joined this project in partnership with the hapū of Te Whānau a Tauwhao with the support from Ngāti Te Wai, Ngāi Tamawhariua and Pirirākau as well as Te Papa Atawhai Department of Conservation, Bay of Plenty Regional Council.

The wetland is a waahi tapu (sacred place), with immense cultural significance to Te Whānau a Tauwhao. After a site blessing earlier this year lead by mana whenua, earthworks began the process of transforming 5.3 hectares of salt marsh and grazing land into wetland that once planted, will also provide a refuge for native bird life.

The local hapū environmental team Kaimai Kauri will continue to support the project in partnership with the Department of Conservation, with planned work on the wetland to tackle pest management and fostering ecology in a space where it thrives.

This initiative has brought about an opportunity for partnership working between government agencies and tāngata whenua through a shared goal.

A video project is underway to tell the story of how this project has progressed from ideas into action.

Takitimu North Link: July newsletter out now

In the July edition of the project’s Contractor’s Newsletter we share the latest news on what’s happening on site, and a special photo diary feature showing all the progress to date. Read it online here. 

Exploring options: The Takitimu North Link Project welcomed students and teachers to a site visit to encourage more women into the infrastructure industry.

Inspiring women into infrastructure with Connexis

The Takitimu North Link project welcomed 27 young women and teachers from four Western Bay schools to site in June as part of an initiative to inspire more women into careers in infrastructure.

The girls had the opportunity to hear from our wāhine (women) working on the project, who shared their experiences on a variety of career options in construction including engineering, environmental, health and safety, truck driving, and project management.

Students from Bethlehem College, Katikati College, Papamoa College, and Tauranga Girls’ College took part in this event as part of the nationwide Connexis Girls with Hi-Vis initiative to positively influence and support women in the infrastructure industry.

During the month of June Infrastructure companies across New Zealand are providing a unique opportunity that opens their doors for a day to show off our industry to the large number of women who haven’t considered a trade or technical career in infrastructure.

“We would like to say a HUGE thanks for Friday. Our girls were absolutely buzzing about the day and were excited about the industry opportunities.” - Liz Coster, Future Pathways Coordinator, Tauranga Girls College

We enjoyed chatting to many people interested in the Takitimu North Link drop in session

Community event at Bethlehem - Takitimu North Link

Many thanks to everyone from Tauranga and the western Bay who visited our Takitimu North Link community drop-in at the Bethlehem Hall in May. It was great to see so many of you and to discuss the project with you.

We had lots of great questions and have compiled an FAQ online at nzta.govt.nz/takitimunorth.

Will the road be tolled?
Every time a new state highway is built in New Zealand Waka Kotahi carries out an assessment to see if it meets the criteria to be tolled and the Takitimu North Link is no different.

Government funding has been provided for the planning and construction of Takitimu North Link Stage One. The ongoing costs of maintaining and operating the road need to be found from other funding sources.

A tolling assessment is in progress and expected to be completed this year. Depending on the outcome, the Waka Kotahi Board may recommend tolling to the Minister of Transport and seek permission to consult with the public on the proposal. If tolling is considered a feasible option public consultation will take place in 2023.

Tolling assessments are designed to apply many perspectives to the complex issue of determining tolling feasibility, including how a potential toll road might interact with the wider transport network.

For Takitimu North Link, this will include how a tolled expressway may interact with the Takitimu Drive Toll Road, consider tolling across both stages of the project, where toll gantries might be located and cost effectiveness and benefits to road users. It will also consider the impact on the existing route through Te Puna and Bethlehem.

More information

For more information on the SH2 Waihī to Tauranga Corridor projects, contact us at bopprojects@nzta.govt.nz

Visit our websites

SH2 Waihī to Tauranga corridor

SH2 Waihī to Ōmokoroa safety improvements

SH2 Katikati to Tauranga speed review

Takitimu North Link