Summer earthworks target achieved

A shot of Cut 28, near the Woodville end of the Te Ahu a Turang: Manawatu Tararua Highway.

Te Ahu a Turanga: Manawatū Tararua Highway project earthworks teams continue to make good progress, recently hitting the 2.8 million cubic metres target set for the first summer season.

Since construction began in January 2021, we've moved nearly 3.6 million cubic metres of earth, out of a total of six million for the whole project.

We're on track to finish most of our earthworks by the end of the next summer season, which starts in October this year and runs until the end of September 2023.

Grant Kauri (back left) and project director Tony Adams (back right), with students (front from left) Elaine Wilman, James Jenkins, Eli Coe, Blake Holden and Israel Bailey.

We are seeing good progress across our six structures, with a recent highlight being the completion of piling on the Parahaki Bridge, over the Manawatū River. This is a testament to the commitment of everyone involved in this work. Concrete pours and steelwork are continuing across the bridge's three piers. On the Eco Viaduct Bridge, which traverses an ecologically sensitive wetland, we've now finished piling on 10 of the 16 piles.

Our landscaping teams working at offset sites across the region have put in an enormous effort across the winter months, with more than 300,000 native plants in the ground to date. This puts the team well on target for an October completion.

Partnership is a core component of our mahi on Te Ahu a Turanga and its value was on full display during the recent graduation of a group of high-school-aged UCOL students, who have been gaining experience on the project since April this year.

The six students, who attend Palmerston North Boys' High School, Tararua College and Taihape Area School, have been coming on-site up to twice a week to get practical experience as part of their NZ Certificate in Infrastructure Works qualification at UCOL.

The interns have been engaging in a variety of tasks, including driving in a dump truck, helping landscapers with plants, and reviewing tests at our onsite lab.

Our partnership with UCOL is a perfect example of the project's intention to provide outcomes that benefit the community long after this highway is completed. Providing training, support and knowledge to people in this region interested in a career in infrastructure and construction is just one way that we can do that.

For information about the project, and to view the latest flyover, head to: https://www.nzta.govt.nz/projects/te-ahu-a-turanga/