- Kia ora
- Long haul work
- A day in the life of a bridge builder
- Rāhui Road bridge construction
- Protecting marine life
- Construction update
Kia ora
I’d like to start by saying thanks very much to all of you who responded to our Stakeholder Survey. It was heartening to see that the vast majority of you are finding value in your interactions with us.
Our communications activities were helpful to 95 percent of you, compared to just 5 percent who didn’t find them helpful. In a further breakdown, 90 percent thought the information was valuable and gave a good level of information, 89 percent said they received information about works in their area in a timely manner and 86 percent said the information was professionally delivered and easy to understand.
Of course, we’d like it to be 100 percent and will strive to continue to keep you well informed and to do better by the time the next survey rolls around.
Other feedback has showed us that more graphics would help you understand the changes to the roading system and more of you enjoyed the electronic newsletter than the written.
We are taking this feedback on board and are looking at ways to revamp the way we communicate with you to better meet your needs.
Our aim is to keep you well informed, safe when you are on the road, and easily able to navigate your way around the construction works and road changes.
If you need any further information on the PP2Ō Expressway project please call us on 0800 PP2O INFO or email pp2o@nzta.govt.nz
Ngā mihi
Andy Goldie, Project Manager
Long haul work
Clare Miller, Project Manager and Danny Richmond, Site Manager from Goodmans talk to Ōtaki College digital media students about undertaking the bulk of earthworks.
A day in the life of a bridge builder
Watch a timelapse showing the Ōtaki River Bridge being built.
Rāhui Road bridge construction
The beams are placed on the Rāhui Road Bridge.
Rāhui Road Bridge is the first steel girder bridge to be installed on the PP2Ō project. The bridge’s steelwork has been fabricated and painted in Napier.
When finished, the bridge will consist of five rows of 2m deep girders, 150 bracing members connecting the girders and they’re all locked together with approximately 3500 bolts. Once completed, it will weigh around 250 tonnes.
Rāhui Road Bridge spans the new expressway lanes, two rail tracks and the shared path, with a total length of 51.3m, making it the longest single bridge span on the entire project.
A number of installation methodologies were considered during the planning phase with the strong focus on reopening Rahui Road as soon as possible. For that reason, it was decided to pre-assemble the outer girders in pairs in Napier and construct a temporary prop tower on site in order to shorten the bridge construction duration as much as possible.
Delivery of a 300-tonne crane to Rāhui Road Bridge provided a great opportunity for early engineers at Waitohu School.
The oversized delivery stopped briefly on Te Manuao Road to let the students get a close up look of the crane and ask lots of questions.
Over the past weeks the children were able to watch the beams being delivered in 17-meter long sections. Fifteen beams were delivered in nine truckloads from Napier, mostly in the early morning to avoid traffic.
Protecting marine life
Koura rescued from one of the 13 streams which meander across the project.
Looking after our indigenous aquatic species is an important part of the environmental work being undertaken during the construction of the PP2Ō Expressway. To make sure any of our native fish which may be harmed during construction are taken to safety, each of the 13 streams within the project are explored and if any of our native fish are present, these are moved to ensure their protection.
So far, the team have relocated 6,664 fish from 15 different species.
In 2018, 5,045 fish were captured and relocated and already this year, 1,933 fish have been taken to new homes.
Many of New Zealand’s native fish are listed as threatened. This includes the longfin eel – we’ve caught and safely relocated over 1,376. We’ve also caught other threatened species such as 139 torrent fish, 195 inanga and 427 koura whose numbers are decreasing.
We have also created new clean pathways for these species to insure the survival of our native aquatic life.
Construction update
North Zone (north of the Ōtaki River to Taylors Road)
Ōtaki River Bridge in flood from the north bank.
At the northern end of the project, foundation works have been completed to the southern embankment of Waitohu Bridge. Building of the abutment and pier columns will now begin.
Rāhui Road has been a hive of activity with the Rāhui Road Bridge beams being delivered and erected, and embankments construction leading up to either side of the bridge underway.
Construction of the last crosshead (Pier 1) on the Ōtaki River Bridge has been completed.
Work is continuing on the realigned rail and the Ōtaki Station northern platform is now complete.
South Zone (south of the Ōtaki River to Peka Peka)
Work continues in all weathers near Mary Crest in the south.
Progress has been positive moving earth on the long haul between Ōtaki Gorge Road and the east side of the railway at Mary Crest. Electra have been busy with overhead relocations in the Old Hautere, School and Gear roads area.
Earthworks for the local arterial road between Mary Crest and Te Kowhai Road have been substantially completed.
Traffic was re-routed along a section of temporary and permanent carriageway on Otaki Gorge Road. Thank you for your continued patience in this area as the construction work progresses.
The subbase construction for the Old Hautere Road southern link tie-in has been completed.
The roof construction for Culvert 39 at Settlement Stream, the wall construction for Culvert 34 at Mangaone Stream, and the foundations for Culvert 35 at Gear Road have all been completed.
