- Kia ora
- First community liaison group meeting
- Minister turns the first sod on "more than just a road"
- Construction update
Kia ora
As your new Peka Peka to Ōtaki Expressway project manager I’m delighted to be sharing this edition of Express CONNECT, our regular construction update.
I’ve been involved with the project and the team for some time as leader of the tender bid and then as Engineering Manager.
I’m also familiar with the area and the task we are undertaking, in fact my family and I lived in Ōtaki while I was part of the Mackays to Peka Peka (M2PP) Alliance management team. On that project, I was closely involved in the preliminary design and approvals stages as well as managing project delivery.
I’ve also been involved in major construction and engineering projects in the UK and other parts of New Zealand.
My commitment to my team and the community is to continue the same high standards of work, and to strive for excellence in health and safety, environmental protection, community liaison and iwi partnership.
I look forward to getting to know you better as the community becomes more involved with the project.
Ngā mihi
Andy Goldie, Project Manager
First community liaison group meeting
Our first Community Liaison Group (CLG) meeting took place at the Family Hotel in Ōtaki, successfully launching what will be a key conduit for the flow of information between the project team and the wider community.
The CLG is open to groups and organisations in the community.
Through this group, the project team can give regular updates on what’s going on and what works are planned, and representatives of the groups present will feed back information to their organisations and raise any concerns for discussion.
The experience of the M2PP team with their CLG is an indication of how useful the group can be for bringing the project team and the community together.
Our first meeting showed how interested the community is in PP2Ō, with 15 organisations represented, as well as representatives from Kāpiti Coast District Council and the Ōtaki Community Board.
One of the first tasks of the CLG will be to study the Site Specific Environmental Management Plans (SSEMPs) for the project. These plans are created for specific sites where works will be undertaken. They will identify environmental aspects of concern for each site, and set out the measures that will be put in place to protect the environment, comply with council consent conditions and environmental legislation.
The CLG is still open to anyone who represents a wider group within the community. It will hold meetings regularly, and has committed to a monthly schedule to begin with to ensure there is a good information flow.
Reports of each meeting, along with any recommendations made, will go back to KCDC to keep Council informed of progress and issues raised.
The PP2Ō project team is also keeping the Ōtaki Community Board fully up to date with progress, and gave a monthly update to the board’s July meeting.
If you’re not already involved and would like to be please contact the team on pp2o@nzta.govt.nz
Minister turns the first sod on "more than just a road"
PP2Ō sod turning at Ōtaki by Transport Minister Simon Bridges, local MP Nathan Guy and K Gurunathan, Mayor of the Kāpiti Coast District.
Transport Minister Simon Bridges dubbed the Peka Peka to Ōtaki (PP2Ō) Expressway as “more than just a road” as he turned the first sod at a ceremony in Pareomatangi Reserve in Ōtaki on Friday 7 July.
Welcomed by Ngā Hapū o Ōtaki and accompanied by Ōtaki MP Nathan Guy and the Mayor of Kāpiti K Gurunathan in putting the first spades into the ground, Mr Bridges also welcomed the news that a shared pathway would be constructed as part of the project.
Mr Bridges said PP2Ō is part of the Wellington Northern Corridor, one of the seven RoNS (Roads of National Significance) that will bring regions closer together.
A total of $330 million is being invested in PP2Ō which the Minister said will be “more than just a road” – “it will mean goods, services and people getting around better than ever before”.
Benefits will include more reliable journey times, and safer and more productive travel. It will also be a legacy project with one of the biggest planting programmes ever seen for an expressway making it special when the project opens in 2020.
“All these Wellington Northern Corridor projects will be a game changer,” said Minister Bridges.
Local MP Nathan Guy said he had lived and breathed the expressway project and it would be his finest legacy when the time came to leave Parliament.
Transport Minister Simon Bridges at a ceremony in Pareomatangi Reserve in Ōtaki on Friday 7 July.
With 500 jobs created on the M2PP project and the planting of 1.4 million native and exotic plants, the PP2Ō is set to continue those benefits.
Mayor Gurunathan also welcomed the potential employment benefits and said more than $200 million had been reinvested in the community by M2PP through procurements.
He added that the sod turning represented Mother Earth being opened up, and the healing process would occur through the presence at the ceremony of those holding mana whenua over the land.
Construction update
Enabling works continue and you can expect to see our people out and about and working on site investigations, removing vegetation and installing fencing.
Key activities over the next month include site investigations around Rahui Road, County Road, Pareomatangi Reserve and Main Highway (SH1) where it crosses over the railway tracks.
More site investigations will get underway shortly around Te Horo Beach Road, School Road, Gear Road and Mary Crest. At times this may involve some temporary stop/go traffic management so please observe any temporary speed limits and keep safe.
