The team has made great progress so far this year with the focus on bridge and retaining wall works, pavements, trenching and laying stormwater and service ducts, along with culvert and drainage work.
We want to thank the SH16 improvements project crew for their hard work and dedication to getting the job done. Also, a huge thank you to our neighbours for their understanding and patience as we complete this essential work.
Big updates this month, our bridges are getting stitched!
Berry Bridge ready for stitching
After many months of construction, both new bridge structures, Kumeu 2 Bridge and Berry Bridge, are ready to be connected to the original bridges in a process called ‘stitching’. This involves using high strength concrete to seamlessly secure the two halves to make each a solid and wider bridge.
During stitching, the road will be closed and traffic detoured to remove vibrations. This is important to ensure the concrete can cure so the strongest bond is achieved. This traffic closure is tentatively planned for the end of May when traffic will be detoured for up to 16 hours overnight during a weekend. We’ll keep the community updated as the time for stitching nears.
Flush medians to replace median barriers
Following a review of the safety interventions for Stage 1 of the project, we’ve decided not to proceed with the installation of median barriers between Huapai and Waimauku. The project will complete widening bridges, creating wider road shoulders, installing the turnaround bays and installing a flush median.
These interventions will improve the safety and efficiency of the corridor by creating more separation between lanes. The wider road shoulder will provide more space for pedestrians and cyclists, with increased accessibility for emergency services in heavy traffic. Turnaround bays will be utilised by our state highways maintenance teams and will be available as emergency stopping bays for emergency services and road users.
This change addresses the concerns we’ve heard from the community about property access and local travel impacts. We’ve determined this approach appropriately balances travel impacts for local journeys and safety for all road users.
NZTA will continue to monitor and assess safety and efficiency along the corridor. The upgrades we’re completing now will provide space for additional safety interventions if required in the future.
Construction update: what’s news with the crews?
Some of the SH16 crew
Trenching for services along with stormwater and gas line relocation in front of private properties has been our focus recently. Also, we’ve been busy with retaining wall works and works at Kumeu 2 Bridge. Steel barriers have been installed to protect our crews and align the approximately 15,000 vehicles per day that pass by.
We again want to thank the Rodney Local Board for their continued support, and to our daily commuters – our crews and their families are so very grateful to you for continuing to make the site safer by keeping to the 60kph speed.
