- Kia ora
- Ōtaki Gorge Road reopening and School Road detour
- Wetlands are important to a healthy environment
- Moteatea o Puti-Winiata
- Upcoming construction milestones
Kia ora
It was great to see the Ōtaki Gorge Road / State Highway 1 (SH1) intersection open two-and-a-half weeks ahead of schedule. The team worked extremely hard to achieve this excellent result with the best interests of the community in mind at all times. I congratulate the team for a great job well done and offer a sincere thank you to the community for your patience.
As you will be aware, School Road was permanently closed at the same time. This is essential for to allow the project to continue construction of the expressway. Work won’t start there for a few days after the Ōtaki Gorge Road reopening to ensure people are familiar with the new layout and that it is working well.
In this update we’ve included some diagrams showing the new intersection layouts and an alternative route for Te Horo Beach residents who want to head south.
The next step for the project is the opening of the new Taylors Road alignment in the north and a small diversion on State Highway One in the same area, both of which are scheduled for early May.
In other news, the first beam for Bridge 9 at Makahuri (formerly Marycrest) will arrive and be placed in early May. Bridge 9 is the final structure to be built on the project and all beams will be in place within six weeks.
These are all major milestones and demonstrate the good progress being made on the project.
We know how cyclists and keen to start using the shared walking and cycling path between Te Kowhai and Te Hāpua roads. The good news is—everything going to plan—that section of pathway should be open for use in June/July.
Stay safe, until next time.
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
Chris Hunt, Project Director
Ōtaki Gorge Road reopening and School Road detour
Ōtaki Gorge Road was reopened to the public overnight on Wednesday 28 April. At the same time, the SH1/School Road intersection was permanently closed and traffic rerouted over the Te Horo Beach Road Bridge. People living in Te Horo Beach may find it easier to use Te Hāpua Road to access SH1 if travelling south.
Below are graphics displaying the new routes.
Alternate Te Hāpua Road route
Route over Bridge 8 at Te Horo Beach Road
Wetlands are important to a healthy environment
Wetlands play a critical role to play in any healthy environment. Not only do they filter water flowing through them, they also act like a sponge – absorbing water in times of flood and releasing it during drier periods.
The PP2Ō project is now at the stage where work has begun on the wetlands found throughout the project area. A new wetland is being created near the railway station and other existing wetlands throughout the project area are being enhanced.
In the latest project video by the Ōtaki College media studies team, take a look at how a wetland is created and maintained.
Moteatea o Puti-Winiata
On the northern side of Bridge 8 (School Road), spanning the southbound lanes of the expressway, is ‘Moteatea o Puti-Winiata’, one of the ten pieces of artwork that have been etched on to the PP2Ō bridges. This piece is a lasting acknowledgement of the taonga tuku iho (treasure handed down) of the Puti-Winiata whanau. The section of expressway beneath the bridge runs through their traditional lands.
The land was originally part of a 27,088-acre block, the Ngakaroro (seagull) block, when it was first registered with the Native Land Court in 1865. The block extended as far west as Te Horo Beach and is believed to have been named for the ngakaroro that travelled inland across it. The ngakaroro in the artwork are an acknowledgement of the block’s history and the whanau of Moroati Kihiroa, the kaitiaki (guardian) of this section of land after receiving this title.
The land was eventually passed down to Moroati Kihiroa’s grandson, Keepa (Jim) Puti who lived and farmed the land with his wife, Hinepuororangi Aute Winiata. Hinepuororangi was known for her waiata (songs), and the musical stave in the artwork is intended to represent her, while the tāniko (ornamental border) pattern is a tribute to Keepa, who was a kaitiaki of kākahu (cloaks).
The project team had the pleasure of hearing stories from the Puti-Winiata whanau and their memories of the land, such as the racecourse Keepa created to train horses. We look forward to sharing more of these stories with you, including more detail of the moteatea (sung poetry) once the project is complete and the stories have been placed on markers in historically significant locations.
Bridge 8 displaying its artwork
Upcoming construction milestones
Northern area update
The SH1 diversion taking place at the northern end of the project
Construction of the temporary 500-metre section of SH1 continues to the east of the expressway alignment. This is on track to be completed and opened to traffic late May / early June. The new section of Taylors Road (for local traffic) is timed to be opened early – mid May in conjunction with the SH1 works. Pavement subgrading and construction works have progressed with lanes between bridge 2, bridge 4 and bridge 5 in differing stages of completion prior to asphalting works.
Central area update
Work being completed on Otaki Gorge Road
A combination of favourable weather through February and March and targeted works have resulted in an earlier than expected reopening of the SH1/Ōtaki Gorge Road intersection. In conjunction with this reopening, the existing SH1/School Rd / SH1 intersection will be closed permanently. All east and westbound traffic wishing to join SH1 can do so via the Te Horo overbridge / Te Horo Beach Road intersection or the Ōtaki Gorge Rd intersection. Both intersections will allow for north and southbound travel on SH1.
Southern area update
The new expressway taking shape in the south
We are on track to complete the remaining earthworks, carriageway drainage and ITS installation in late May, meaning expressway pavement work can commence in this area soon after. Good progress has been made with the abutments at bridge 9 (Makahuri Rail Overbridge) with the first bridge beams to be installed in early May. Construction of wetlands adjacent the expressway just north of Te Hāpua Rd is well underway – these are timed to allow planting through late winter / early spring.
