NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi

Roading crews in the Manawatū-Whanganui region are keeping busy this summer and are making great progress on our renewals programme. We’ve scaled up our road renewal programme by increasing the amount of road rebuilds compared to last year. Road rebuilds are a key priority, and they involve removing the existing road surface and road layers and replacing them with new materials to improve the long-term condition and quality of the road. So far, 11 lane kilometres of state highway has been rebuilt and drainage improved at a number of sites including on SH1 near Levin and Rata, SH2 between Woodville and Dannevirke, and SH54 at Vinegar Hill. Crews also managed to complete some of this work ahead of schedule, and before the Christmas break. The picture below shows work underway on SH54 where crews completed a road rebuild. They also completed bridge deck cleaning, sign cleaning, pothole repairs and vegetation clearing under a 2-week daytime road closure. To maximise the use of this closure, we also managed to coordinate repairs to an underslip on SH54. You’ll continue to see important works like this underway this summer. Travel safely through worksites, follow signage and any instructions you receive. This work forms part of the government’s $2.07 billion investment into road and drainage renewal and maintenance across 2024-27 via the State Highway Pothole Prevention fund.

This month marks a year since we started building the roundabout at the intersection of State Highways 1 and 29 in Piarere, in Waikato. This before and after shows how much can happen in a year! Workers have made steady progress – two of the three approach roads are now open (SH1 from Tīrau, and SH29). We still have you using the temporary Hamilton approach road while workers continue building on the permanent configuration. We expect this to be ready for use by early March 2025. Workers will continue working on the central median and installing barriers on this approach, and then our focus will shift to landscaping and planting. We’re on track to have everything completed by mid-2025. Thanks for your continued patience through the site – stick to the temporary speed limits and take care when travelling through while we all adjust to the new layout. You can keep up to date with our work on the SH1 / SH29 intersection by signing up to our email newsletter. Visit our website to sign up, and to find out more about the project: https://lnkd.in/ge9XCKnX

We'll soon begin excavating the 235-metre tunnel for the future Te Ara o Te Ata – Mt Messenger Bypass in North Taranaki. The hard tunnelling work will be completed by specialist crews from the Mt Messenger Alliance, with the help of a 110-tonne road header machine – a type of machine that cuts through rock using a head with spikes, as you can see in this video. You can keep up to date with our work on Te Ara o Te Ata by signing up to our email newsletter. Visit our website to sign up, and to find out more about the project: https://lnkd.in/gAufrTyH

Here's a look at the progress we're making building the new Ohakea Commercial Vehicle Safety Centre (CVSC) in Manawatū. The Ohakea CVSC is one of 12 facilities we're building on high-volume freight routes around the country for the NZ Police to operate – this one is located between Bulls and Sanson on State Highways 1 and 3, on Pukenui Road outside RNZAF Base Ohakea. This new CVSC will replace the old NZ Police weigh station currently on SH1/3. The CVSCs use in-road and roadside technology to screen heavy vehicles and flag potentially unsafe or non-compliant vehicles, which can be directed into the CVSC for inspection. Police can check a vehicle's weight, road user charges, and certificate of fitness, as well as check the driver’s logbooks and conduct breath tests to ensure the driver isn't impaired. The information we collect here will help us target education to operators who aren't compliant on our roads, reducing road maintenance costs, ensuring operators are paying their fair share, and keeping compliant operators moving. The Ohakea CVSC is nearing completion and is expected to be operational in the coming months.

Here's a great initiative that's been kicked off by our Northland maintenance contractors Fulton Hogan: They're now recycling plastic edge marker posts that'd otherwise end up in a landfill. The humble edge marker post plays a vital role in road safety, and when we replace them they'd typically end up in a rubbish pile. Instead of binning every post, Fulton Hogan in Northland has partnered with WM New Zealand and Marley NZ to facilitate the posts being repurposed into PVC pipes. This initiative has been rolled out in Auckland and Christchurch after a successful trial in Northland. The posts are fully recycled into durable PVC pipes that'll be used in wastewater systems, helping to protect our waterways. This is a great example of how we can reduce waste and give materials a second life. A big thank you to the teams for making a positive change for the environment!

This week’s Roadworker of the week is Fa’atonu, known to his team as Tonu. Tonu is a site engineer for HEB Construction, currently working on Te Ara Tupua, our project to improve State Highway 2's resilience while connecting Wellington and Lower Hutt with a safe walking and cycling path. Tonu’s day-to-day work varies from surveying and setting out the levels of a site to ensuring building designs are produced accurately and shared with the construction crews. Roles like his play an important role in bringing designs to life by working with teams on the ground to deliver the required work. Having worked in the industry for over four years since graduating from the University of Auckland, Tonu’s career is on an upwards trajectory. He appreciates being able to learn from his peers. He's also enjoying the experience of working on the first project in the country to use an ecological interlocking concrete block known as Te Ripowai, a name and design gifted by iwi designer Len Hetet. These blocks, which make up part of the new seawall we're building on Te Ara Tupua, interlock with each other, and have been specially modified to encourage the growth of aquatic life. Roadworkers across the country are out on the roads, making the most of the summer period. We acknowledge this is a time when many people are travelling across the country, especially over long weekends, and we’re working to minimise disruption as much as possible. This includes downing tools and removing as much temporary traffic management as possible over the holiday weekends. Thanks to Tonu and the team working on Te Ara Tupua. When you see roadworkers out on the road, travel safely through their worksites, follow signage and any instructions you receive, and give them a wave to say thanks for their tremendous work.

This week’s Roadworker of the Week is Peter. Peter is a Site Traffic Management Specialist for Downer , based at their Hamilton depot. Peter and his team support the Waikato based chipsealing team, who work across the region on both the state highway and local Council roading networks. During the warmer, drier months of spring and summer the team chases the sun to complete sealing programmes which improve the quality of the road surface while also waterproofing the pavement underneath. Peter and the traffic management team support the sealing team by setting up the worksites in advance. For local roads this includes ensuring people have had time to move themselves and their vehicles out of the way, prior to sealing taking place. We're moving towards a new approach that ensures you only see the traffic management necessary to get the job done. We’ve heard people want to see fewer road cones and signs, and we're working to make this happen. Known for his permanent smile while he goes about his day, Peter is recognised as a great communicator, working effectively with the sealing team to ensure work can take place while any risks are managed. Roadworkers across the country are back out on the roads after a short break over the holiday period. This allows us to make the most of the summer period – we acknowledge this is a time when many people are travelling across the country, and we’re working to minimise disruption as much as possible. Thanks to Peter and the team for keeping everyone safe every time you head out on the road. When you see roadworkers out on the road, travel safely through their worksites, follow signage and any instructions you receive, and give them a wave to say thanks for their tremendous work.

We've started work on State Highway 4 at Putiki in Whanganui to make it safer for people to cross the road. The site near Kemp Street will soon have a pedestrian refuge island in the middle of the road, an extended kerb, and pram crossing points. This'll make it safer to cross, with a place for people to wait while crossing, and with the overall crossing distance reduced. People crossing the road will also be more visible to people driving. We'll also mark out a new bus stop for use by school buses, build a new footpath to connect into the crossing point, and make a right-turn bay from SH4 into Kemp Street. This project is an outcome of recommendations made by the Pūtiki Emergency Response Group, which was established to improve emergency preparedness of the community following flooding. In yesterday's beautiful weather we joined Pūtiki hapū and our project partner Horizons Regional Council and the roadworkers on site to see work getting started.

If you’ve filled up at a Z station this summer, you will have seen road safety messages front and centre in-store and on the forecourt. Partnering with Z Energy NZ and NZ Police we’ve been able to promote important messages at the pump – capturing people when they’re heading back in the car to remind them of the basics: buckle up, drive sober, put your phone away, and check your vehicle before you get on the road. You’ll continue to see these messages on rotation throughout the year thanks to Z Energy spreading these messages far and wide throughout New Zealand.

We've just finished two of the approach roads on the roundabout at the intersection of State Highways 1 and 29 in Piarere, in Waikato. We'd opened the roundabout back in September with a temporary layout in place while roadworkers continued building the roundabout's permanent layout. Earlier this week we opened the permanent SH1 approach from Tīrau and the permanent SH29 approach from Tauranga. The temporary Hamilton approach road will remain while roadworkers continue building the permanent approach – we expect this to be finished in early 2025, and we're on track to finish all construction on the roundabout in mid-2025. The roundabout will improve efficiency, connectivity, and safety on this very important high-volume route. You can keep up to date with our work on the SH1 / SH29 intersection by signing up to our email newsletter. Visit our website to sign up, and to find out more about the project: https://lnkd.in/ge9XCKnX