Highway on track for 2024 finish
Covid-19 hasn’t put highway in jeopardy
Any thoughts that the Te Ahu a Turanga Highway (Manawatu-Tararua Highway) might be in jeopardy because of Covid-19 were quickly dispelled when leading representatives of the project from NZTA spoke to the monthly Works Liaison Committee meeting held on Wednesday June17.
Councillors listened to an hourlong presentation from Lonnie Dalzell (senior project manager NZTA) and Mark Long (people and culture manager.)
Dalzell started by re-emphasising the overall focus of creating a safe, resilient and efficient replacement for the closed State Highway 3 through the Manawatu Gorge.
He said this was a real challenge in one of the most seismically active parts of New Zealand in difficult terrain, requiring structures which could withstand all the threats tectonic and weather forces can throw at it. He said he wanted a highway which could be crossed in approximately 12 minutes regardless of events.
Changes to the highway as a response to public submissions include:
■ The four lanes incorporating two crawler lanes
■ The shared use path which is located as far from the highway as possible
■ Pull over points with three lookouts over Woodville, Ashhurst and the windfarm
■ A median barrier to separate opposing traffic
■ Viewing changes to the ecovia duct
He described the programme to protect and enhance the environment including ponds to trap run-off from the highway and the planting of 50+ ha in indigenous trees requiring 2.5 million plants, more than compensating for the retirement of 30ha for the road.
Mark Long said the highway was to “be more than just a road”. He said the shared pathway was to be for walkers, cyclists and even horse riders and was planned to have signage including a natural and cultural narrative for people to view along the way.
He said the plan was to employ locals for 65 per cent of the workforce which would total nearly 400 at its peak in the third year of construction.
He said training programmes will be put in place to get the locals upskilled for the work and there will be a recruitment drive with two meetings in Dannevirke and Palmerston North in late July to assess labour availability and training requirements.
In terms of housing he said the Alliance was concerned not to put unnecessary pressure on local housing stocks which were already in short supply. It was in negotiation with five property developers to build some of the 55 houses required initially in Palmerston North and Ashhurst because that is where the Alliance’s base was to be but there were a dozen potential sites either side of the ranges.
Both spokesmen were keen to highlight the iwi partnership saying it was a totally new experience for the Alliance requiring a “mindset shift”. They said having the iwi involved from the start has been a huge help and a very rewarding one. Mavis Mullins, who was at the meeting, said she congratulated the Alliance for its initiative and courage in “biting the tail of the tiger”. She hoped the concept would be copied in other major projects.
In terms of progress Dalzell said the consenting process is almost at an end with a date at the Environment Court set for August/ September and the hope is to start enabling work involving access tracks (west and east), water reservoirs, cleaning sites contaminated by previous land users and windfarm tracks in October.
He said construction would take three seasons from September to April when the weather was good, the winters being for non-earthworks. When it started there would be multiple work fronts with several teams, starting with the bridge building near Ashhurst and the major 55 metre cut closer to Woodville.
During that time impacts on the Saddle Road from machinery and trucks would be kept to a minimum with a maximum of 20 movements per day – deliveries rationed over other quieter periods.
The hope to finish December 2024 Dalzell said would depend upon the weather, finishing the consent process and discovering the true nature of the terrain once excavation begins. He said 100 bore holes have given the Alliance an idea of what lies below the surface but there could be surprises.
He hoped the end of the project would not be the end of the project’s effects on locals saying that maintenance contracts such as drainage will be so designed to suit small local businesses so that they will continue to prosper into 2025. He said some of the works machinery could possibly be used during the construction stage to help with future water storage – surely music to the ears of Councillor Peter Johns and Woodville residents! Another public information session for each town is set for August.