River diverted as Peka Peka to Ōtaki expressway gets set to cross water

Friday, 21 September 2018

An aerial image looking south over the Ōtaki river.

The Ōtaki River has been diverted as work to bridge it ramps up.

Contractors building the $330 million Peka Peka to Ōtaki Expressway have shifted the river's gravel to create a temporary platform to sink the last two sets of piles into the river bed.

Looking north over the Ōtaki expressway works.

Once completed, construction will shift to the northern side of the bank and the river would return to its natural course.

The 330-metre, 18-columned bridge is the largest of nine that make up the project - expected to open in 2020 - that will form part of a billon-dollar fast road to Wellington.

The expressway is expected to open in 2020.

Further north, just past the Ōtaki township, a bridge is being built over the railway line.

* Kapiti expressway needs 49 kilometres of repairs

* Construction begins on Peka to Peka to Ōtaki expressway**

Once the final two pillars are built, the river will return to its normal route.

Once completed, the route would join up with the $630m Kāpiti Expressway which would, in turn, link to the $850m Transmission Gully, also due to open in 2020.

Six of the project's nine bridges were well underway and work would start on two more in the next few months, New Zealand Transport Agency spokesman Chris Hunt said.

The Ōtaki river has been diverted to create a platform for contractors to work from.

'Local road construction, which needs to happen ahead of mainline expressway works, is advancing and we're gearing up for a very busy summer of earthworks.'

Currently, about 190 people a day worked on the site; a workforce of 970 people had been inducted onto the project so far, Hunt said.

'Anticipated peak employment is 350 people per day on site. We expect this will be during the summer months when earthworks are underway.'

Construction began on the project late last year with buildings and vegetation removed to make way for the 13km, four-lane expressway that bypassed the Ōtaki township.

Once the bridges are completed, a new 1.3km section of railway track would be laid starting from the Ōtaki Railway Station and reconnecting with the existing track north of Rahui Rd.

Last month, nine 39m-long beams each weighing 70 tonnes were placed for another bridge to be built north of the Mill Road roundabout. A 400-tonne crawler crane was used for the job.

While work was on track for the Ōtaki route, residents potentially affected by the final leg of the Wellington Northern Corridor continue to wait for news.

Homeowners in the path of the uncertain Ōtaki to north of Levin expressway would be updated on the project after October, NZTA said.