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RNZ News
a day ago
- Automotive
- RNZ News
Te Ahu a Turanga - Manawatū Tararua Highway formally opened with karakia
The ribbon being cut at the formal opening of the Ahu a Turanga Highway. Photo: RNZ / Pokere Paewai A long-awaited highway connecting Manawatū and Hawke's Bay has had its official opening - eight years after the old highway closed. The road does not officially open to traffic until next week, but a few locals had the chance to take a test drive over the southern Ruahine Ranges on Saturday. The four-lane Te Ahu a Turanga - Manawatū Tararua Highway replaces the old State Highway 3 through the Manawatū Gorge, which closed in April 2017 due to slips. Minister of Transport Chris Bishop was present to cut the ribbon. It was fantastic to finally see the highway open, he said. "It's a very important day for the communities. And it has been a very large investment from the government but a very important one, and it's going to be a fantastic resilient new road and be one that will last for generations to come." Stakeholders for the new highway pose for a photo after the cutting of the ribbon. Photo: RNZ / Pokere Paewai It was expected the 11.5km route would take less than 15 minutes to drive, an improvement on the windy alternative routes over the Saddle Road and Pahiatua Track that were in use for the past eight years. Chair of Horizons Regional Council Rachel Keedwell said she hoped the new highway would be a much safer drive then the alternatives. "The Saddle Road was never designed to be a state highway - it was basically a farm track that turned into a road taking 9000 vehicles a day in heavy traffic, the speed limit was dropped to 60km/h for a reason. There's been many serious injuries and deaths on that road, so this is just going to be amazing. It's a quick easy ride, it's safe, heavy traffic can get over it without holding up other traffic." Horizons Regional Council spanned communities on both sides of the ranges, and Keedwell said the closure had been a big deal for the Tararua District in particular. "It's impacted on how people get to work, it's impacted on how the community joins in to Palmerston North, and financially, people have borne the brunt of that, businesses as well as locals, and so bringing the connection back together it just makes it seamless from one side of the region to the other." Before dawn, karakia rang out across the brand new Parahaki Bridge on the Ashhurst end of the new highway. The karakia was led by representatives of five iwi: Rangitāne ki Manawatū, Rangitāne o Tamaki nui a rua, Ngāti Kauwhata, Ngāti Kahungunu and Ngāti Raukawa, from both sides of the Ruahine/Tararua range. Rangitāne ki Manawatū kaumātua Manu Kawana. Photo: RNZ / Pokere Paewai Ngāti Kauwhata spokesperson Meihana Durie said it was important for all the iwi to come together to recite the karakia. "He tauira pai pea tēnā mō ngā ara katoa o te motu nei kia kaua e haere tapatahi ki te mahi engari mē āta kōrero ki ngā iwi, ki ngā hapū. Whakaae katoa ngā iwi, ngā hapū ki te hanga o tēnei rori nō reira mātau katoa e tino harikoa ana i tēnei rā." "This project might be a good example for other roading projects around the country to not go directly into the work, but to speak first with the iwi. All the iwi, the hapū (in the region) agreed to the building of this road so we are all very happy today." Rangitāne ki te Manawatū kaumātua Manu Kawana said the new highway took its name from a nearby landmark - Te Ahu a Turanga. That name in turn came from an ancestor named Turanga, who was a descendant of Aotea waka from Taranaki. During a battle in the Manawatū Gorge Turanga was mortally wounded, he said. "I tata hemo atu te tūpuna rā, arā piki ake i ngā riu o ngā pae Ruahine rā, i tae atu ā ia ki tētahi taumata, ko taua taumata ka kite atu nei i te maunga titohea koira pea tōna hiahia kia tae atu rā ki tētahi wāhi e taea ai te kite atu i tōna maunga. Katahi ka mate atu." "He almost died then, but he began to climb up the valleys of the Ruahine ranges until he reached a peak, from there he could see Taranaki, perhaps that was his desire to reach somewhere where he could see his mountain. Then he passed away." The Manawatū Gorge with the old State Highway 3 on the right side of the river. Photo: RNZ / Pokere Paewai There was still a stone on the mountainside marking the site of his death, Kawana said. "Me mihi ka tika ki Te Ahu a Turanga taumata, i tikina atu ai te ingoa o te huarahi nei i tō mātau taumata tapu rawa atu," Durie said. "We must pay tribute to the peak of Te Ahu a Turanga, that name, the name of our most sacred peak was chosen as a name for this highway," Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
RNZ News
5 days ago
- Business
- RNZ News
Mt Messenger contractors making strides underground and overhead
Contractors have offered a sneak-peak at two of the main features of Te Ara o Te Ata - the Mt Messenger Bypass on State Highway 3 in Taranaki. A huge road-heading machine is excavating a 235m-long tunnel under the highest point of the maunga and construction of a 125m-long bridge toward the southern end of the project is underway. The six-kilometre $360 million bypass aims to deliver a safer more resilient route north out of Taranaki, avoiding an existing steep and windy stretch of highway which includes a narrow tunnel. NZTA project manager Caleb Perry. Photo: RNZ / Robin Martin Waka Kotahi project manager Caleb Perry said the tunnel, which was 65m below the summit, was a key component of the project. "The tunnel is 235m-long or will be once we've broken through and it's excavated in two headings. So, what we're standing in now is the top heading and the final road level will be about 3m below our feet here. "So, we break through with this top heading out the other side probably in about October/November time this year. Then we bring all the team back to the start, drop down about 3m and carry on and remove what we call the bench." Perry said two-lane bridge would be 13m wide by 9m high, giving an over-dimensional traffic envelope of 10m wide and 6m high when an emergency exit passage was installed one side and the lighting and fire safety equipment installed the roof. Inside the tunnel. Photo: RNZ / Robin Martin Tunnel supervisor Steve Wiley. Photo: RNZ / Robin Martin A Tūrangi local, tunnel supervisor Steve Wiley learned his trade in Australia. "A typical day underground is pretty much excavation, shotcrete, curing time and excavating again." He loved life underground. "It's just a challenge. You have challenging days, good days. And it's the people, you know, you run into some really good characters working underground." Roadheader operator Carlos Cooper. Photo: RNZ / Robin Martin Carlos Cooper pilots the 110-tonne road-header given the name 'Hinetūparimaunga' - the atua of mountains and cliffs - by project partners Ngāti Tama. "She's one of the nicest machines you can drive in underground tunnelling. She's pretty good and particularly with this ground it's pretty soft, so she's easy cutting on this particular project." The 110 tonne roadheader machine in the Mt Messenger tunnel. Photo: RNZ / Robin Martin He also earned his stripes across the ditch. "In Australia is where I started. I had a few mates who got into the underground game and I haven't looked back since." The Whanganui local outlined his day. "Arrive for a briefing at about 6.30am and come up here about 7am. Get into cutting mode and then it will take approximately two, two and a half hours to cut 1.2m and then we'll much the face out and shot crete will come in and do their bit and we'll bolt after that and shotcrete again." Cooper was looking forward to emerging at the other end. "It's quite a relief one of those special days you can look back on and tell your grandkids yeah you were on that project and it was one to remember. He hoped to take a spin on the new highway once it was finished. "Absolutely, yeah, hopefully I'll be one of the first." Bridge building boss Nick Myers-Kay. Photo: RNZ / Robin Martin Senior project engineer Nick Myers-Kay was in charge of constructing the project's longest bridge - which actually involved building two bridges. "Currently we're standing on the 110m of temporary staging that needs to be constructed ahead of building the permanent bridge which is going to be located out to the right of us here. "In the background here that's the first lot of permanent earthworks that the bridge is started on. That's pretty much where the abutment is going to start. The bridge had raking piers. That keeps the pier foundations out of the wetland." The view from a service road down to the tunnel head. Photo: RNZ / Robin Martin He said the temporary bridge - on which a 28 tonne crane was operating - helped minimised damage to the wetland below. "The immediate challenge is the environment. I'm new to this area I've never worked in this region before, so I'm quite amazed at the ruggedness and steepness of the terrain around us. "It's obviously very beautiful country here too the bush is just spectacular, so that is obviously a major challenge for us to navigate our way around that." It was a point project manager Caleb Perry reinforced. "This is a really important part of the natural environment here at the headwaters of the Mimi Stream and you can see off to the side the kahikatea swamp forest which is one of the last inland wetlands that we are working as hard as we can to protect." A digger operating in the tunnel. Photo: RNZ / Robin Martin That went as far as bending trees out of the way. "You can see around me there are few trees with tie-downs, ropes around them. We basically put a team of ecologists in a basket hang them from a crane and the try and bend some of those trees out of the way, so the temporary bridge can go through. "After we've built the main structure this temporary bridge won't be needed anymore and the team will come back and let the trees bounce back into their natural position." A 28 tonne crane preparing to place a pile from the staging bridge at the construction site of the 125m steel girder bridge. Photo: RNZ / Robin Martin The permanent bridge was due to be completed by September 2026. New Zealand Transport Agency was still embroiled in a Public Works Act wrangle for land required for the project at its northern end. If that was successful, it would take about four years to complete the bypass. A surveyor working at the tunnel face. Photo: RNZ / Robin Martin Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
