Here’s a snapshot of what’s happening onsite and behind the scenes - October 2024 update.
Construction
The pavements teams are making good progress putting down layers of structural asphalt, the second to top layer of the road. So far, they have placed about 40,000 tonnes out of a total of 70,000 tonnes. On top of these layers of asphalt will go a final surfacing layer called Stone Mastic Asphalt (SMA), which provides added skid resistance.
Construction of the two roundabouts – one at each end – continues, with the roundabout at the Ashhurst end due for completion by the end of 2024. Traffic will start using this roundabout from November. The Woodville roundabout is also expected to be completed by the end of the year.
Structures
All 54 segments of the bridge deck on Parahaki Bridge are now completed. Now, the teams are working on stitching together the bridge deck sections from pier 3, which are due to be completed by the end of November. Once this is done, work will begin on finishing touches like barriers.
The Eco-Viaduct bridge deck is complete, and the team is currently working on installing the barriers. This bridge is on track for completion by early 2025.
Landscaping
Working alongside the construction teams is the landscaping team, who have just wrapped up their planting for the year.
Since April they’ve put more than 420,000 plants in the ground, most of which were planted next to the highway. That brings the project total to 1.5 million plants so far.
The planting teams will return early in 2025 to complete the remaining planting, with the total number of plants expected to reach 1.8 million.
