The NZ Transport Agency has awarded the contract to upgrade Warkworth's State Highway 1/Hudson Road intersection to the local infrastructure firm, Wharehine Group.
Work on the $3.5m contract, which forms the next stage of SH1/Warkworth improvements, is due to start at the end of April. It is anticipated that the improvements will be completed before Christmas.
The NZTA’s State Highways Manager for Auckland and Northland, Tommy Parker, says the successful bid by Warkworth-based Wharehine has a number of benefits.
“Its proposal not only demonstrated value for money and its ability to deliver high quality construction, it also demonstrated the group’s longstanding connection and passion for Warkworth and the Rodney region. The group knows the environment and community well and there’s the added advantage of the company being able to utilise its local quarry for materials.”
Wharehine’s Managing Director, Rob Gibson, says Hudson Road is an important local infrastructure project and one that his team will be proud to build.
“We are grateful for the opportunity to construct a major highway project within our community and look forward to completing the project to our usual high standards,” Mr Gibson says.
The upgrade includes several features:
The NZTA is also investigating opportunities to extend walking and cycling facilities to nearby Hill Street to provide safer access to and from the Showgrounds.
Warkworth is identified by Auckland Council as one of the city’s two satellite towns, and the Hudson Road upgrade will improve transport links to the town’s west to help meet future growth. Mr Parker says the
upgrade is also a necessary part of any future redevelopment of the SH1/Hill Street intersection.
“We’re working with Auckland Transport and Auckland Council to make sure our projects are aligned with theirs and we’re all working together to get it right.”
Mr Parker says one of the NZTA’s key objectives is to measure the impact the Puhoi-to-Warkworth section of the Ara Tuhono – Puhoi to Wellsford road of national significance will have on the town’s traffic.
“We do expect that when we construct the new highway, more traffic heading to Warkworth will arrive in the town from the north. We will complete our investigations later this year and that will give a much clearer idea on both the design and timing of any changes at Hill Street,” Mr Parker says.
The Warkworth/State Highway 1 programme is a combined NZTA and Auckland Transport project to improve the SH1 intersections in the town. In addition to Hudson Road, the project includes improving the Hill Street and SH1 and SH1 and McKinney Road intersection connections. The Woodcocks Road and SH1, Whitaker Road and SHI intersection improvements were completed at the end of 2010.
For more information, including frequently asked questions regarding the suite of Warkworth/State Highway 1 improvement projects, please see the NZ Transport Agency website at www.nzta.govt./warkworth(external link)
