- Kia ora
- Ōtaki Gorge Road
- New intersection for Taylors Road
- The Pink Carnation Project
- The Phoenix has risen
- Upcoming construction milestones
Kia ora
Happy 2021 everyone. I hope this year treats us all better than 2020 and that we can keep COVID at bay until the vaccine allows us some protection.
The PP2Ō project team has a full work programme this year and is already enjoying a busy first quarter. At the end of this month, construction on the partial interchange at the intersection of Ōtaki Gorge Road and State Highway 1 will ramp-up. In the north, the Taylors Road diversion is taking shape and traffic is expected to be on it in March. Bridge 8, at Te Horo, is also scheduled to open to traffic later this month (weather permitting).
South of Bridge 10 at Makahuri (formerly known as Marycrest), you can’t help but notice the Expressway alignment as it takes shape with our cross culverts being installed alongside the local arterial road that is currently being used for SH1 traffic. The progress being made throughout the project is very pleasing and long may it continue.
Though I know we are all excited about the Expressway’s completion, we want to acknowledge the inconvenience some of the work can cause. Again, with the upcoming closure of Ōtaki Gorge Road (ŌGR) intersection, I want to reassure you we have listened to your concerns and have made changes where practical. For example, keeping the existing School Road intersection with SH1, which allows a left in/left out turn for those travelling south and prevents the need to cross the state highway.
We couldn’t put into place all the suggestions we received, although we continue to try to minimise disruption as much as possible. Sometimes the least disruption comes with the most short-term inconvenience. We have gone to great lengths to programme this work extremely carefully, and we are actively managing all our risks to get the work done as quickly as possible. We will provide weekly updates on progress at Ōtaki Gorge Road. If you’re interested in receiving them, sign-up details are listed further down this newsletter.
There’s plenty of other work taking place on the project. You will also see our horticulturists out and about on site soon as the new planting season begins. The past year saw strong plant growth and we’re hoping for the same this year.
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
As we shared earlier, essential work at the Ōtaki Gorge Road (ŌGR) intersection with State Highway 1 means ŌGR will be closed for an 11-week period from the end of February, to allow the partial interchange to be constructed. During this period, a detour will be in place along Hautere Cross Road and School Road.
At the same time, the School Road overbridge will open, allowing northbound traffic to pass over SH1 and the railway tracks and then onto Te Horo Beach Road for access to SH1. Those travelling south will be able to use the existing School Road /SH1 intersection for left in and left out travel.
There is also a temporary speed limit of 70km/h on the diversion, dropping to 30km/h outside Te Horo School. To help ensure safety outside the school, traffic management officers will be present during drop-off and pick-up times, with stop/go management in place if necessary.
During the closure of Ōtaki Gorge Road, we will be making weekly updates available. If you would like to receive these progress reports please email pp2o@nzta.govt.nz and write OGR in the subject line.
Hautere Cross Road diversion
Left in / left out at School Road
Northbound traffic will use Bridge 8 at Te Horo to access the state highway
New intersection for Taylors Road
In late February/early March (weather permitting), the intersection at Taylors Road and SH1 will be shifted south to make way for the northern PP2Ō Expressway tie-in. A new section of Taylors Road has been built to divert traffic from an area slightly west of the previous Taylors Road/SH1 intersection to the new location.
This new section of Taylors Road will give travellers their first opportunity to travel under the Waitohu Stream Bridge (sometimes referred to as Bridge 1), which will eventually form part of the expressway.
The Pink Carnation Project
Creating memorable art pieces is a complicated business. So, we were very fortunate to get lots of help from some eager school students on the Te Horo underpass art project. Back in September 2020, Fletcher staff collected handprints from Te Horo School pupils, which will be woven throughout the artwork being showcased inside the underpass. That was the simple part – slap black paint on the child’s hand and transfer it to a white piece of paper.
The next part isn’t so easy. The handprints will create the petals of the famous Ōtaki Carnation, but they firstly need to be electronically transferred from paper onto stencils. Once the stencils have been created, the design will be painted on to the inside of the underpass. The finished effect – stunning.
The Phoenix has risen
Anyone familiar with Ōtaki will also be familiar with the three enormous Phoenix palms growing at the southern end of the Ōtaki river bridge. It’s an area currently busy with earthworks, as the team prepare for construction of the Ōtaki Gorge Road partial interchange.
These Phoenix palms have been a part of the Ōtaki community for a decade, and while the trees are not native to New Zealand, the project team felt that their amenity value to the community was worth trying to preserve.
Phoenix palms average 10m-20m in height with a trunk diameter of around 1.2m and have been known to grow as tall as 40m. To move a tree of that size you need a crane, a digger, a truck, and a very determined crew.
Travellers crossing the Ōtaki River Bridge on the afternoon of Friday the 29th of January 2021 may have seen our team of eco warriors in action as they dug around the southernmost palm, being careful to save as much of the root system as possible. Once they had hoisted it up with a crane and loaded it on to the back of a waiting truck, the Phoenix palm was driven about 100 meters north of its previous location and replanted.
The team now need to wait, monitor and care for the palm tree over the coming weeks to see if it survives the transplantation shock.
The Phoenix palm, a feature at the southern entrance to Ōtaki, finds a new home.
The palm tree is being prepared to be lifted on to the back of a truck and taken to its new location.
Action. The peripatetic palm is on the truck and moving.
Upcoming construction milestones
Northern area update
Bridge 1 stretches over the Taylors Road diversion and Waitohu Stream.
Pavement works are substantially complete on the permanent section of Taylors Road. Earthworks to the northern approach of Bridge 1 (Waitohu Stream) have been in full swing since the beginning of the year, and we have made good progress. The four bridges between the northern end of the project and Ōtaki river are all complete – three are now open to traffic, one is open to construction traffic. Road subgrading and pavement works are underway in different areas through the northern area of the project.
Central area update
Work is progressing well on the build of the partial interchange at Ōtaki Gorge Road.
Earthworks, drainage, pavements and barrier works at Ōtaki Gorge Road and Te Horo Overbridge / School Road project locations continue. The opening of the new section of School Road (overbridge 8) for east / west local traffic will occur at the end of February. At the same time this road opens, the existing SH1 / Ōtaki Gorge Road intersection swill be closed to all traffic for approximately 11 weeks to enable the fast-tracked construction of the Ōtaki Gorge Road partial interchange. The Ōtaki Gorge Road intersection will reopen in May.
Southern area update
Bridge 10 and the shared path underpass are being filled over to complete the embankment.
Earthworks and large transverse drainage in this area continue. The bridge 10 and shared path underpass structures are now being filled over to complete the expressway embankment up to the southern abutment of Bridge 9 (the Makahuri Rail Overbridge). Work on the shared path has also progressed, with the bridges now complete and the pavement / finishing works underway.
