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'We're on our way home': Te Ahu a Turanga - Manawatū Tararua Highway earthworks near completion

Monday, 3 April 2023

Drone footage from Waka Kotahi shows the progression of the highway's construction from January 2021 to March 2023.

As the new highway being built to better link Manawatū to Tararua and Hawke’s Bay approaches a key milestone, those working on the ground can sense rising excitement for the road.

About 5.2 million of a total of 6 million cubic-metres of earth has already been shifted and shaped to provide the contours of the 11.5 kilometre Te Ahu a Turanga Manawatū Tararua Highway.

“We’re on our way home as far as earthworks goes,” project spokesperson Grant Kauri said on Monday, when Stuff was invited to assess the progress of the project first-hand.

The remainder is to be completed this winter, with the focus then shifting to drainage and road seal.

**READ MORE:

Beams being placed on the eco-viaduct bridge, at the Ashhurst end of the new highway.
Beams being placed on the eco-viaduct bridge, at the Ashhurst end of the new highway.

* Debris cleared from Parahaki Bridge site after Cyclone Gabrielle

* A close-up look at the Te Ahu a Turanga: Manawatū Tararua Highway

Earthworks are nearing completion on Te Ahu a Turanga: Manawatū Tararua Highway, but bad weather, complex bridge foundations and Covid have conspired to delay it’s expected opening until mid-2025.
Earthworks are nearing completion on Te Ahu a Turanga: Manawatū Tararua Highway, but bad weather, complex bridge foundations and Covid have conspired to delay it’s expected opening until mid-2025.

* New Manawatū-Hawke's Bay highway construction hits milestone

Walking the Te Ahu a Turanga – Manawatū Tararua Highway, people get a close-up look at the construction in January.

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“We’re really looking forward to having our earthworks done. That’s going to be a huge achievement for all those involved.

“People recognise earthworks as just the actual plant and machinery there doing the work, but it’s all the supporting functions like environmental teams.”

There is also satisfaction that the biggest challenge of the project, the groundwater conditions beneath two key bridges, have been navigated.

However, progress on Parahaki Bridge, traversing the Manawatū River, and the nearby eco-viaduct bridge, would continue to “push the programme”, holding a strong influence on time-frames.

The new highway was now expected to be open mid-2025, six months later than originally forecast.

A section of the highway known as “Cut 13”, where 2 million cubic-metres of earth was cut and redistributed, comprising a third of all earthworks for the project.
A section of the highway known as “Cut 13”, where 2 million cubic-metres of earth was cut and redistributed, comprising a third of all earthworks for the project.

Kauri said this was the cumulative effect of Covid, two wet summers and unforeseen challenges with the bridges, most notably a much higher than expected water flow below the viaduct bridge, which needed to be mitigated.

Cyclone Gabrielle had contributed to about a week’s delay, with slips to earthworks on the Woodville side, while slash and sediment had to be cleared from around the pillars of Parahaki Bridge.

Though not a significant delay to the road’s opening, Kauri said they wanted to be transparent with the public, appreciating the Saddle Rd route “does wear thin on people” and there was keen anticipation for the highway.

Te Ahu a Turanga Manawatū Tararua Highway.Alliance owner interface manager Grant Kauri.
Te Ahu a Turanga Manawatū Tararua Highway.Alliance owner interface manager Grant Kauri.

And excitement was only growing for motorists who had experienced the difference of travelling between Manawatū and Wellington, via Te Aranui o Te Rangihaeata – Transmission Gully and the Peka Peka to Ōtaki Expressway.

“It’s really efficient driving down there. To have this [highway] for that connection, will be great.”

Beams are now being fitted to the 300m-long viaduct bridge, while second and third piers of Parahaki Bridge are nearing completion, and abutments in place at both ends.

A section of the route where a third of the total cut was made – 2 million cubic-metres – was now ready to be handed over to the drainage team.

What was once rugged farmland used for grazing beef and sheep, was now a striking series of terraces, with a clear path for the four-lane highway.

Motorists don’t need to travel far to get a feel of what the driving experience will be like.

The 10% gradient on the Ashhurst side of the highway, and 8% gradient on the Woodville side, are comparable to Te Aranui o Te Rangihaeata (8%), but will also afford spectacular views of Manawatū and Tararua while weaving amid the turbines of Te Apiti Wind Farm.

The makeshift highway it will replace, Saddle Rd, has a gradient of 16% in some sections, and is much more windy.

The highway, being built after slips permanently closed State Highway 3 through the Manawatū Gorge in 2017, originally had a price-tag of $620 million.

Kauri said that was now being reassessed to consider the impact of delays, as well as inflation and rising costs for materials, such as diesel.

Through winter the number of workers on site would reduce from 350 down to about 270, and would continue to drop off as drainage was completed and preparations made for paving.

By the numbers