Express CONNECT – August/September 2018

• Kia ora
• New State Highway 1 pedestrian crossing
• Surface upgrade announced for the PP2Ō Expressway
• Progress on shared pathway designs
• Bridge beams for Bridge 2 positioning
• Fish capture and relocation
• Construction update

Kia ora

We’ve got lots of progress and good news to share with you this month.

Last month’s announcement by the NZ Transport Agency to upgrade the surface of the expressway to Open-Graded Porous Asphalt (OGPA) has been welcomed by the community and the team as a great result for residents and road users.

Since the NZ Transport Agency confirmed funding for a purpose-built shared path alongside the Peka Peka to Ōtaki Expressway we’ve been working hard on testing and designing its route. This month we’re able to share the latest plans for this exciting project development with you.

We’ve also got some important information about upcoming changes to State Highway 1 just north of the Ōtaki roundabout.

Our digital update from the Ōtaki College students focuses on the environmental work we’ve been doing ahead of the stream diversions required to build some of the many large project culverts.

Our worksites are now starting to extend the entire length of the project from Taylors Road to Peka Peka and things are getting very busy out there. We’re working hard to keep everyone safe by introducing various traffic calming measures and temporary speed restrictions. For everyone’s safety please slow down around all works and allow a little extra time for your journey.

If you need any further information please call us on 0800 PP2O INFO or email pp2o@nzta.govt.nz

Ngā mihi
Andy Goldie, Project Manager

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New State Highway 1 pedestrian crossing

We’re about to close the State Highway 1 pedestrian underpass off County Road and introduce a new signalised pedestrian crossing to State Highway 1.

In early October we’re installing a new pedestrian crossing just north of the Ōtaki roundabout on State Highway 1.

The SH1 pedestrian underpass off County Road will close and the new pedestrian crossing will ensure that local pedestrians have a safe place to cross SH1.

As things are changing in this area, it’s important that drivers slow down, allow extra time for your journey and pay attention to all the temporary speed limits and signage.

Drivers should pay extra attention during ‘before school’ and ‘after school’ times as many school students will use this pedestrian crossing.

What you need to know if you’re driving or cycling:

• A new signalised pedestrian crossing will be created just north of the Ōtaki roundabout.
• Single-lane flow around the roundabout, similar to holiday weekends will be implemented 24/7.

What you need to know if you’re walking:

• The pedestrian underpass which currently connects County Road with SH1 will be permanently closed.
• Pedestrians are being temporarily diverted via County Road and Rāhui Road to the new crossing point.
• Once SH1 traffic is switched onto the new bridges later in the year pedestrians will be able to walk down the eastern side of SH1 to the new signalised crossing on a 3m-wide shared path.

Once traffic is using the new bridge, we will dismantle the old bridge and start to build the new rail track.

Thank you for your patience as changes are made in this area.

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Surface upgrade announced for the PP2Ō Expressway

The NZ Transport Agency has announced it will upgrade the entire surface of the Peka Peka to Ōtaki (PP2Ō) Expressway from chipseal to Open-Graded Porous Asphalt (OGPA).

Senior Manager, Project Delivery Chris Hunt says OGPA provides a smoother surface for drivers, reduces surface spray and the possibility of aquaplaning during heavy rain, requires less maintenance, is quieter for road users and nearby residents, and will cope better with projected traffic volumes.

“It’s vital that the expressway provides great journeys for our customers, both now and in the future,” Mr Hunt says.

“Recent traffic modelling for PP2Ō indicates that traffic volumes just north of Peka Peka are currently at approximately 20,000 vehicles per day. By 2031 this is projected to grow by at least 10% to 15%.

“As with most major roading projects, chip seal will be put down for the first 12 months to allow the surface to bed-in, enhance waterproofing, and help reduce the risk of early surface failures. Following that 12-month bedding in period, the OGPA will then be applied.

“The decision to upgrade the road surface was an evidence-based decision based on sound technical advice, but I also want to acknowledge those in the community who have strongly advocated for this,” Mr Hunt says.

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Progress on shared pathway designs

Artist's impression of a cross section of the PP2Ō shared path.

In April 2018 the NZ Transport Agency confirmed that a shared path would form part of the PP2Ō Expressway project. Since then we’ve been working hard on detailed designs for the 10 kilometre long route that will provide the local communities it connects with a safer multi-modal trail separated from cars, trucks and other motor vehicles.

Practically, design constraints unique to the PP2Ō project mean the pathway cannot be identical to the M2PP shared path. For example, the design is constrained by the land available to build on, which is much narrower than the land secured for M2PP. Aside from real estate and safety, key considerations for the shared path route have included such issues as embankment slopes, connections to schools and recreation sites, existing rail corridor and local road crossings, wetlands and the Winstone operational work site.

We’ve looked at landscaping, bridges and underpasses to enable walking, running and cycling and also additional width to cater for horse movements through key sections of the route.

Final design of the shared path has been split into sections to allow us to design and build it in line with our construction programme and critical path. South of the Ōtaki River to Te Kowhai Road is now confirmed as well as the northern section from north of the Ōtaki Railway Station to Taylors Road. The last section between the north bank of the Ōtaki River and the Railway Station is still being worked on and in this area we are investigating a range of solutions and bridging options including upgrades to the current Ōtaki River Bridge.

View the PP2Ō shared path cross section designs [PDF, 621 KB]

View the PP2Ō shared path route maps by section:

• Set 1
• Set 2
• Set 3

And we welcome any feedback you may have, contact us at pp2o@nzta.govt.nz

The PP2Ō shared path is in line for completion with the PP2Ō Expressway.

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Bridge beams for Bridge 2 positioning

Placement of the nine super tee beams on Bridge two (the bridge that spans the expressway north of the Mill Road roundabout) attracted a lot of public interest in August. The beams are 39 metres long, each weighing 70 tonnes, and required the use of a 400-tonne crawler crane for placement.

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Fish capture and relocation

Our digital update from the Ōtaki College students focuses on the environmental work we’ve been doing ahead of the stream diversions required to build some of the many large project culverts.

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Construction update

North Zone (north of the Ōtaki River to Taylors Road)

Birds eye view of Bridge 2 and 3 with super tee beams in place.

Towards the end of September you can expect to see more activity between Taylors Road and Ōtaki Township as we start preparing to work on the new Waitohu River Bridge (Bridge one).

Construction continues on Bridges two and three (north-west of the roundabout on Mill Road). We’ve finished placement of all the beams on these new bridges which will span the realigned railway and expressway. The focus over the coming months now moves to completing the bridge decks, barriers and tie-ins to SH1 and County Road. We’ll also start work on the western abutment of Bridge four (the bridge that will take Rāhui Road up and over the re-aligned rail track and new expressway).

The western footpath on SH1 in this area remains closed with pedestrians diverted via the rail underpass or via County Road. To keep pedestrians safe on County Road a temporary footpath has been created and vehicle traffic reduced to one-way southbound. In October a new signalised crossing will be introduced to SH1 just north of the Ōtaki Mill Road roundabout (see story above for more detail).

Ōtaki Railway Station platform extension works continue with the southern end on schedule to be finished by the end of September, before we move to the northern end of the platform. Things are busy out there, please slow down around all works and allow a little extra time for your journey.

South Zone (south of the Ōtaki River to Peka Peka)

Construction of the new Ōtaki River Bridge.

Construction of the new Ōtaki River Bridge (Bridge five) continues on the south bank with new bridge columns and crossheads continuing to appear out of the river bed. We’ve moved the river gravel around to create a temporary platform to complete the last two sets of piles in the river bed. Once the two remaining piers are complete within the river bed, the river will return to its natural course again. Access to the south bank is restricted around our works. For everyone’s safety please observe all site signage and stay out of work sites.

The focus and piling equipment then moves to the northern side where we’ll complete the remaining piling and abutment works for the bridge. The public river walkway on the north bank will remain open during construction but at times may need to be diverted.

We will start laying pavement this month on the new sections of Old Hautere Road and Ōtaki Gorge Road. We’re building the local roads first to make sure we keep people moving around the district. In Te Horo we’ll continue work on culverts and drainage.

South of Mary Crest we’ll continue working on service relocations (gas, power, telecommunications and water).

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