Thank you for all your help in 2018!

It’s been an exciting and busy year for the project team, with a number of key milestones achieved. The project remains firmly on track for our ‘opening date’ of 2024.  A big thank you to the local community and all our other stakeholders who have talked and walked with us over the past twelve months. A quick look at what kept us busy this year:

March 2018: The NZ Transport Agency Board approves the preferred option for the new road (Option 3 out of the four shortlisted).

April: Work begins to prepare resource consent documentation (including Notice of Requirement – NoR - which seeks to designate what land is required for the transport corridor).

May – October: Extensive engagement with key stakeholders to develop preliminary design. 

July – August: Public information sessions to present project plans, maps and animated flythrough video.

September: Work begins to identify consortia to design and construct the road.

November: NoR is lodged with local councils.  A further round of public information sessions is held in Feilding, Palmerston North, Woodville, Ashhurst, Dannevirke and Pahīatua.

13 December: NoR submissions close.

NoR submissions close

Submissions on the Notice of Requirement (NoR) closed on 13 December.  We are advised that councils have received more than 700 submissions from the community. Thank you for all those who have taken their time to make a submission.

The NoR is a critical step to obtain statutory Resource Management Act approvals to authorise the proposed new road across the Ruahine Ranges.

A public hearing will be organised by councils next year so any submitter who wishes to be heard can present at the hearing.

New round of geotech investigations

A fresh round of geotechnical investigations is now underway on the preferred route for the new State Highway 3 (SH3) over the Ruahine Ranges.

As part of the investigation, bore holes are drilled up to 50 metres each at different parts of the site. Soil samples provide essential information on what is happening in the ground – information that is vital when detailed design and construction gets underway.  Our geotechnical engineers report that nothing ‘unexpected’ or ‘unusual’ has been found at the testing site so far.

Saddle Road / Ashhurst

Our summer works programme is now underway, and contractors have started work on the two retaining walls at the Saddle Road, with the walls programmed to be finished after Christmas.  Once the two walls are complete, contractors will construct a stock underpass and complete the road works which are due to be completed at the end of March.

The two curves at Woodville side of gorge are due to be finished by the end of February.  Traffic will begin to be rerouted on to the new alignments from the end of January.

Work is underway in Ashhurst to mitigate traffic noise and safety issues, and residents who are directly affected by these works have been contacted by us.  Ashhurst residents who subscribe to the Ashhurst Traffic Mitigation newsletter will receive a further update on works in the town before the end of 2018.

More information

If you have any questions or want to give us feedback, please drop us a line at teahuaturanga@nzta.govt.nz and we will get back to you within three working days, or you can call us on 0800 740 560.