- Kia ora
- Rāhui Road – rising up and over
- Rāhui Road closed – what you need to know
- Rāhui Road closure and diversions
- Ōtaki River Bridge hits half way mark
- Construction update
Kia ora
This month we celebrate meeting the half way mark on the new Ōtaki River Bridge and focus our attention on building the Rāhui Road overbridge.
Rāhui Road overbridge will carry local traffic up and over the re-aligned rail tracks and new expressway between the BP Station and County Road intersection. Building the new bridge will take up to seven months to complete and we have to close the road to get it done. This will undoubtedly cause disruption to local journeys as traffic and pedestrians are diverted via other routes. More on what’s involved and what you need to know below.
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
Rāhui Road – rising up and over
Bridge 4 – Rāhui Road.
Rāhui Road is about to change the way we move east to west through Ōtaki. Currently when you travel along Rāhui Road you cross a signalised level crossing between the BP Station and County Road intersection.
At Easter, we will move the rail track to the west to make room for the new expressway. As soon as we switch the railway onto the new tracks we will close Rāhui Road for up to seven months. During this time we will work as quickly as possible to get the new overbridge built. When it’s opened, local traffic and pedestrians will travel east to west on the new bridge over the rail tracks and expressway.
There are some really important reasons why we have to close the road and divert traffic and pedestrians.
- As soon as we move the track we take away the signalised level crossing and don’t replace it. Why? Because we’re building a bridge to take the traffic and pedestrians over the rail and expressway.
- We need to keep everyone safe. Live train tracks and a working civil construction site present high-risk situations which are managed by strict controls for the people working in these environments, and living around them.
- We’ll be working as quickly as possible to get the job done and minimise disruption. This is best done with the public diverted away from our works.
Rāhui Road closed – what you need to know
Workers preparing the rail tracks north of Rāhui Road.
From 14 April 2019, Rāhui Road will be closed between BP and the southern County Road intersection. The road will be closed for up to seven months with traffic and pedestrians diverted via alternative routes as shown in the graphics below.
Entering County Road, Rāhui Road and Te Roto Road
Northbound traffic
- turn right onto Waitohu Valley Road
- right onto Dittmer Street
- right onto Te Manuao Road
- left onto SH1, and
- left into County Road
Southbound traffic
- turn left onto County Road
- County Road remains oneway southbound
- no right turn northbound from SH1
Exiting County Road, Rāhui Road and Te Roto Road
- travel east up Rāhui Road
- turn left onto Freemans Road
- left onto Te Manuao Road
- turn left or right into SH1
Walking or cycling
Pedestrians and cyclists will be diverted north or south via a footpath on County Road, then:
- north on the existing footpaths, or
- south on the eastern side of the new bridges on SH1
- the path on the new bridges will take pedestrians to the signalised lights on SH1, where pedestrians can safely cross east to west
Like the new bridges, this path will go through several phases of construction to complete. The path on the new bridges will continue to pass safely through our construction works.
Rāhui Road closure and diversions
Ōtaki College digital media students video the diversion route and interview the team to find out what’s happening and what you need to do to get around the works safely on foot, bike or vehicle.
Ōtaki River Bridge hits half way mark
Looking north over half of the new Ōtaki River Bridge.
With 55 of the 110 beams now in place, the team working on Bridge 5 (the new Ōtaki River Bridge) are half way there! A great effort with some impressive stats behind their hard work:
- 3,600 Tonnes of bridge beams in place
- 35,000 Hours of labour worked
- 3100 Cubic metres of concrete poured
- 22 Piles
- 6 Bridge piers
- 900 Tonnes of reinforcing steel in place
- More than 2,500 crane lifts (from 2T loads to 65T loads!)
Construction update
All hands on deck the new Ōtaki River Bridge.
North Zone (north of the Ōtaki River to Taylors Road)
Works on the new Waitohu River Bridge (Bridge 1) continue. A temporary 70km/h speed restriction is in place on State Highway 1 between Taylors Road and the outskirts of Ōtaki when we are operating in this area.
Construction continues on Bridges 2 and 3 (north of the Mill Road roundabout). The temporary speed limit of 30km/h will stay in place through this area. Things are changing so it’s really important to slow down, pay extra attention, stick to the speed limit and stop for red lights at the pedestrian crossing.
Work around Pare-o-Matangi Reserve and the Railway Station continue as we get ready to switch the rail track onto its new alignment at Easter 2019. Switching the track will trigger local road diversions and the temporary closure of Rāhui Road from mid-April for up to seven months (covered in detail above).
The Chrystalls Bend public river walkway on the north bank of the Ōtaki River continues diverting people around our work site. Works on the Ōtaki River Bridge may at times increase river flows in the deep channel. Swimmers in this area should pay attention to the warning signs in place and take extra care.
South Zone (south of the Ōtaki River to Peka Peka)
Work on the new Ōtaki River Bridge (Bridge 5) continues and access to the south bank remains restricted around our works.
Work on Bridges 6 and 7, which will carry Ōtaki Gorge Road over the expressway and the rail track, are progressing well. Around the end of April a lane closure will be in place on Ōtaki Gorge Road with stop/go traffic management while we place the final bridge beams, this work will take a couple of days.
The Old Hautere Road intersection with State Highway 1 is now permanently closed and we’re temporarily diverting traffic via Ōtaki Gorge Road. The Old Hautere Link Road will be open to traffic by the end of May.
Work continues on Bridge 8, the local road over-bridge that will carry traffic and pedestrians across the rail-track, expressway and local road (currently SH1) to connect east and west Te Horo. Later in April preparatory works will start on the eastern abutment of Bridge 9, this bridge will carry the expressway over the rail track at Mary Crest.
The truck crossing point on School Road continues to operate under stop/go along with a speed restriction. This will be in operation for several months.
South of Mary Crest the construction of the local arterial road is progressing well and the 70km/h speed restriction on SH1 will remain in place for the duration of our works.
