- Kia ora
- Railway realignment
- Local roads and pavements update
- BCITO students pay us a visit
- Awards nomination
- Safety culture at work
- Construction update
Kia ora
This month we focus on the new local roads we’re building to keep people and freight moving around the district before we build the expressway. Old Hautere Link Road, the first of these roads to get underway, will connect the western end of Old Hautere to Ōtaki Gorge Road. More details are provided below.
A surprise and rewarding community nomination for our bilingual signage has seen the project team, along with our translation partners Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Te Rito, make it through to the finals of the 2018 Māori Television Matariki Awards.
We’d like to thank our anonymous supporter for taking the time to put our name forward and will update you next month on how we go against the competition!
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
Railway realignment
To build the new expressway we need to move approximately 1.3km of railway track. The section we’re moving starts at the northern end of the Ōtaki Railway Station and extends north past County Road to the outskirts of the town.
The track moves to the west, taking out a sharp bend past County Road and creates the space we need to build the expressway.
As part of the works we’re also upgrading and extending the Ōtaki Railway Station platform. The historic station will remain exactly where it is and does not need to be moved. The platform extension work is due to begin in July and will be completed in stages as outlined in the diagram.
The staged process makes sure we minimise impacts on parking and train commuters but means things will change several times over the next couple of months. Please take extra care in this area and pay attention to all temporary traffic management signs.
This detailed plan shows the sequence of the works:
| Stage 1 | The pink zone will be demolished, the platform will be extended (blue zone) and tie in with the current platform. During this stage train commuters will need to use the northern end of the platform to embark and disembark. |
| Stage 2 | The southern carpark will be fenced and the carparks, kerb and channel, planting and footpath will be upgraded. |
| Stage 3 | The northern carparks will be upgraded, this will conclude work in the southern zone. |
| Stage 4 | The northern zone will be fenced and panels will be installed in preparation for the railway realignment work. This work may take up to six weeks to complete. During this stage train commuters will need to use the southern end of the platform to embark and disembark. |
We apologise for the inconvenience and thank you for your patience as we undertake works. If anyone wants any further information, please get in touch with us through our 0800 7726 4636 hotline.
Local roads and pavements update
Aerial view of new Old Hautere Link Road being prepared south of Ōtaki.
As well as 13km of expressway, nine bridges and 1.3km of rail track realignment, this project has around 7km of new local roads to construct. The majority of these are being built before we start work on the expressway to make sure we keep freight and traffic moving around the region.
Work is now underway between Old Hautere Road and Ōtaki Gorge Road where you’ll see lots of excavators, heavy rollers and other machinery at work, preparing the ground for pavements (the road surfaces).
There are several stages to preparing pavements. The first is the subgrade layer which involves excavation, shaping the road to the correct line and level and compacting it with a roller. Then we lay the sub-base which is also shaped, water is added to ensure there is moisture in the aggregate, and then it is compacted. The next stage is to spread base course which is also shaped, watered and compacted.
Finally we will add stabiliser to bind the sub-layers together before we put the final seal on the pavement. In shaping the road surface we have to allow for camber (the slope on the road from the centreline) and kerbs and channels at the edge of the road to enable the water to drain away.
The new section of road is then tied into Old Hautere Road in the south and Ōtaki Gorge Road in the north and opened to public use. Once open the current intersection of Old Hautere Road with State Highway 1 will be permanently closed and residents will need to use Ōtaki Gorge Road intersection to head north or south on the State Highway.
We’re expecting the new link road to be in use later this year.
BCITO students pay us a visit
Wellington BCITO students visiting the PP2Ō site.
The Peka Peka to Ōtaki Expressway project team has helped open the eyes of Wellington college students to different career possibilities in the civil construction industry.
Two busloads of Building and Construction Industry Training Organisation (BCITO) students recently visited the site to meet our team and find out more about the massive range of skills and experience needed to build a road.
BCITO provides apprenticeship and supervisor qualifications for the New Zealand building and construction industry and is appointed by the Government to develop professional qualifications and set standards for the industry.
BCITO training advisor Jonny Best says over 80 students gained a lot of insight from the PP2Ō visit.
“Every year we take students and their career advisers around different construction sites to show them the range of career options available in the industry.
“At PP2Ō they got to see the way the bridge piles are being built and understand the process being followed. They were given a tour of the concrete pre-cast yard and met some of the supervisors and project manager Andy Goldie.
“The supervisors talked about qualifications they themselves had got on the job, which helped the students understand the pathways they could take. It was a great way to show them what opportunities exist in construction and civil engineering.”
Jonny says that BCITO will be running something similar with local Kāpiti colleges next – “With PP2Ō being right on their doorstep, it makes sense to do so.”
Awards nomination
Students and staff from Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Te Rito hep put up bilingual signage.
The PP2Ō team, along with our translation partners Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Te Rito, have made it to the finals of the 2018 Māori Television Matariki Awards – and it’s due to you, the Kāpiti community. Thanks!
An anonymous member of the public entered our names after we and Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Te Rito got together to put bilingual signs around the project site. We were the first major project in New Zealand to use bilingual signage and it’s attracted a lot of positive feedback.
The annual Matariki awards recognise and celebrate Māori achievement across a range of disciplines. We are one of three finalists in the Te Ururangi Award for Education category.
Māori Television says the awards are an opportunity to acknowledge and honour individuals and organisations whose passion, innovation and dedication are making a difference to our communities and our country.
From achievement in sports and academia through to contributions to arts and culture, the Matariki Awards aim to highlight and celebrate outstanding commitment to Aotearoa and kaupapa Māori.
Each of the finalists across all categories demonstrates a high calibre of Māori success and accomplishment, helping to nurture and support the growth of the language and culture – both in Aotearoa and worldwide.
The Awards ceremony takes place at the Auckland War Memorial Museum on Saturday July 14 and will be broadcast live on Māori Television.
Safety culture at work
Keeping people safe at work is our number one priority. This month Ōtaki College media studies students share some insights into Health and Safety culture at work on PP2Ō.
Construction update
North Zone (north of the Ōtaki River to Taylors Road)
Progress on the Ōtaki River Bridge.
Earthworks and construction continue for the abutments for Bridges 2 and 3 (north-west of the roundabout on Mill Road). Work is now taking place on all three abutments which we’re preparing to place bridge beams on over the coming months. The abutments will support two new bridges spanning the realigned railway and expressway.
The western footpath on SH1 in this area has been closed and 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. This diversion will remain in place for the next eight months.
From early July, Ōtaki Railway Station platform extension works will commence. The staged programme will take around two months to complete. 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)
Progress on Bridges 2 and 3.
Construction of the new Ōtaki River Bridge is underway on the south bank with new bridge columns and crossheads starting to appear out of the river bed.
Over the coming months we’ll complete the columns and crossheads on the south side of the river. The public river walkway on the north bank will remain open during construction but at times may need to be diverted. 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.
We’ve also started work on the new local roads that form part of this project. This month we’ll finish stripping topsoil between Old Hautere Road and Ōtaki Gorge Road and then start work on the pavements. We’ll build the local roads first to make sure we keep people moving around the district.
South of Mary Crest we’ll continue working on service relocations (gas, power, telecommunications and water).
