20 December 2023

2023: A Year of Progress and Change

Welcome to the last e-newsletter for 2023, a big year for the O Mahurangi - Penlink project.

Our work continues through December, then we'll be taking a well-deserved break for the holidays from Friday 22 December 2023, returning on Monday 8 January 2024. During the break, staff will be carrying out intermittent inspections. We remind everyone the project area is a construction zone with many hazards and there is no public access at any time.

Happy Holidays from the O Mahurangi - Penlink team!

Click on the image above to watch the video on YouTube.

December 2023 Aerial Flyover

Check out our very first aerial flyover of the entire project to see the progress we've made this year. Be sure to watch it in high-definition by increasing the video quality to 1080p or higher under the "Settings" button in the bottom right corner. 

Crews finished constructing a haul road. The above is the future Bridge 3 / Link Road 1 location as well.

December Construction Recap

At Top Road, we completed a new site access track.

At State Highway 1 / East Coast Road, we completed stormwater and service relocation works, as well as installing wick drains in the area between SH1 and East Coast Road.

A raised crossing was constructed to protect underground services on East Coast Road and traffic signals installed to allow heavy construction vehicles to cross from one side of the road to the other. Electronic speed signs were put in place to advise vehicles to slow down if travelling above the temporary speed restriction of 50 km/h.

At Ara Wēiti Road, we constructed a haul road (pictured above) on Ara Wēiti Road to the new East Coast Road crossing for material to be moved between these two areas.

We also constructed erosion and sediment control devices, as well as confirmed the location of underground services.

At Stillwater, we continued building the temporary staging on the western side of the river and constructed ground stability piles for the western bridge abutment.

Excavation works were carried out in preparation for the future Duck Creek Road bridge, including ground stability work and tree clearing.

In Whangaparāoa, ecology checks and tree clearing continued together with chipping and stump grinding. Once these areas were cleared erosion and sediment controls were put in place and access tracks constructed.

In the former Cedar Reserve, the first pipes were installed to begin construction of a stormwater drainage line.

For a second stormwater drainage line, a temporary stream diversion was completed allowing ground improvement works to be undertaken.

Check out progress photos later in this e-newsletter.

Left photo: mulch donation to Stanmore Bay School, right photo: food donation to community pantries.

Giving Back to Our Community

Recently, we had two unique opportunities to give back our local community. 

Stanmore Bay Primary School recently asked the community for mulch donations for their vegetable patch. With vegetation and tree clearing happening across the Whangaparāoa project area, our team knew we could help and responded to their request by donating some mulch from site. We hope the school grows a bountiful harvest and inspires young gardeners with green thumbs.

Two of our local communities, Whangaparāoa and Stillwater, have food pantries. To support these two great initiatives, staff and the project donated non-perishable food items which were delivered to the pantries.

Scenes from Site

For more information on the O Mahurangi - Penlink project, call us on 0800 7365 465 or email us at omahurangi@nzta.govt.nz.

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