Progress

Progress to end December 2008

December was a busy month for everyone at D2P and we made fantastic progress – until it started to rain in the last week!  As the Mechanically Stabilized Earth (MSE) walls can’t be compacted in wet weather, we had to focus our attention on other areas of the project, and the walls will, instead, be brought up to full height in early January.  Despite the rain, we still managed to hit our big milestone for the month: lifting the final bridge span of the project into position.  The construction team left for the holidays very satisfied that Korokoro Bridge was all in place.   

Other achievements in December included getting the MSE Wall on the Maungaraki side of Dowse Interchange up to full height and putting on most of the capping beams, a major switch at the Park n Ride car park and creation of the roundabout at Hutt Road.  Work on services and drainage continued, with the maze of drainage work at Korokoro now being very close to complete.  The team also commenced landscaping works at Hutt Road and Dowse Interchange, which is always a good sign that things are coming to an end.

Dowse Interchange will remain the major area of focus in January and February as the team prepare to have the Interchange open to traffic early in 2009. 

Progress to end November 2008

Summer weather forecast means the outlook for the Dowse to Petone Upgrade Project construction is fine.

The fine start to spring significantly aided progress on D2P and with the recent run of sunny days it looks like summer will follow suit.

The bridge structures at Dowse Interchange are complete, with the exception of the staircase that allows pedestrians to travel directly from the Dowse Interchange to the west of Hutt Road without walking down the ramp.  The focus in this area is now on finishing the Mechanically Stabilised Earth (MSE) walls adjacent to the railway line, which will form the on- and off-ramps between the Dowse Interchange structure itself and SH2.  Following the completion of the MSE walls, the road construction crew will move in to the area to start building the pavement (road).
 
Further south on SH2, the second span of the Korokoro Bridge is in place and the MSE wall on the western side of the bridge is gaining height.  With the demolition of J-Block finally complete we have been able to progress the construction of Mackenzie Avenue Bridge. Motorists driving past this area will see that the second half of this bridge, which allows access to and from the Park ‘n’ Ride car Park, was lifted into place early in November. 

In the same way that a lot of the earth that has been ‘cut’ away on the project has been used to ‘fill’ other areas we are re-cycling much of the remaining concrete rubble from the demolition of J-Block. This will be crushed and processed on site and re-used as fill in the MSE wall being built at Korokoro.

The roundabout on Hutt Road is fast taking shape, and the MSE wall that leads up to Dowse Interchange is being prepared for paving.  Traffic on Hutt Road is currently pushed to the west, and pedestrians are also diverted to that side to allow space for the new road to be constructed. 

Progress to end October 2008

October got off to a great start with the Korokoro structures team lifting the first span of the Korokoro Overbridge into place over the railway line next to the existing Korokoro Bridge.  We hope to have one more span in place before Christmas.  Also at Korokoro, the old three-story polytechnic building, known to locals as J-Block, was finally brought down to a pile of rubble.  This is a significant achievement as it was a more complicated job than we had originally anticipated.  The rubble that remains will be processed on site, and the construction team hope that it will be suitable for use in the Mechanically Stabilised Earth (MSE) wall that forms the ramp from the Park n Ride car park up to Mackenzie Avenue Bridge.

Now that J-Block is out of the way, work at Korokoro has really taken off.  A dedicated team has been brought in especially to build the second half of the Mackenzie Avenue Bridge, which is targeted for completion prior to the Christmas break.    In that same area, we have made fantastic progress with SH2 and the Park n Ride Car Park.   

The MSE walls continue to be the main focus at the Dowse Interchange.  The MSE wall on the Maungaraki side of SH2 is now at full height and just about complete.  Work has now started on the two walls on the rail side of SH2, which we are hoping will also reach full height fairly quickly. 

Hutt Road has had a face lift over the past week or so, as the traffic is now pushed tightly to one side to allow for the construction of the new roundabout that will manage traffic between Hutt Road and the new Dowse Interchange.  Also on Hutt Road, the new public car park is now open and being used.  The car park will receive its final surfacing when the rest of the surfacing is laid on Hutt Road, early next year.    

Progress to end September 2008

The start of spring was promising for D2P - with most of the bad weather seeming to be behind us, the new construction season got off to a great start.  The majority of the bridge structures are either complete or nearing completion, so the main focus is now on continuing the State Highway 2 (SH2) road construction and on getting the eight remaining Mechanically Stabilised Earth (MSE) walls, which form the ramps up to the bridges, completed.

The Korokoro intersection has had a number of changes over the last few months and the current layout is expected to remain unchanged, excepting a few minor tweaks if required, until at least the end of the year. 

The reason for all the minor changes to-date was to allow the piling crew to install soldier piles (which will retain Pito-One Road once SH2 is 6metres lower) through the middle of the intersection. 

Once the piling was complete, southbound traffic was moved up on to the temporary ramp, next to the northbound traffic, to give the construction team space to begin construction of the Korokoro bridge and lower SH2 to its final level.

The construction team very much appreciated the patience and understanding of the regular road users who took these changes in their stride. 

The MSE wall at Korokoro is now almost at its final height, and the team is very optimistic about successfully lifting beams into place over the railway line in early October.  Also at Korokoro, the J-Block demolition is making progress.  Once it is complete the second half of the MacKenzie Avenue bridge will be constructed.   

There are three MSE walls to construct at the Dowse Interchange.  The wall on the Maungaraki side of the highway is now more than 50% complete, and construction will start on the two walls on the rail side shortly. 

North and south bound SH2 traffic is running on the new permanent alignments underneath the Dowse Interchange.  Those of you who travel through at night will have noticed the bright studs, rather like cat’s eyes, that we are using to mark the lanes.  These solar studs are being trialled on this project as an alternative to temporary overhead lighting and are proving very effective.   

All the spans of the ‘East’ bridge over Hutt Road are in place, and the majority of the concrete for the decks has been poured.  The final structural aspect to this bridge is a small staircase which allows pedestrians a quicker route to Hutt Road without having to walk all the way down the ramp.  Once this is complete, the structures portion of the Interchange will be finished.  The next step is to build the road, which will happen after the road construction on Hutt Road itself is underway.

Progress to end August 2008

It's our anniversary! We celebrated one year of construction on the D2P site this month - and it has gone really fast. Spring has definitely sprung, which is great for the construction team at D2P! Though winter hit hard it was relatively short and we should now be able to get back in to the full swing of things. The MSE Walls which form the ramps at Dowse Interchange are the main focus for the project over the next few months and these cannot be constructed in wet weather, so let's hope it stays dry!

The team looking after the Dowse Interchange managed to get the final 'East' bridge span in place over Hutt Road during a night closure on Wednesday 27 August. They were very pleased to get all the beams in place in the one night, which meant the closure the next night for the ancillary work was nice and short. The rest of the work on Hutt Road is also progressing nicely. Work has started on the small retaining wall at the end of the new public car park. Once this is complete, the car park will be paved and then opened for public use. It will be closed again for a few days near the very end of the project to receive its final surface.

Also in August, the D2P team completed the pavement on the final alignment for north bound traffic travelling under the Dowse Interchange on SH2. It was a great achievement, given the weather, as it is very hard to create quality pavement when it is wet. They hope to complete the adjacent southbound alignment by the end of September. This too will have an interim stage where the traffic is split between the temporary and permanent alignments for the final week while they pave the tie-in between the two.

At Korokoro we have had a piling rig in the middle of the intersection for the last month or so; a big thank-you to all motorists who drive through there and negotiate their way around the subtle changes that have been taking place. The team are pleased with the steady progress they have been making as piling in such a confined area means it is a tight squeeze for the guys to fit in all the necessary equipment.

Once the piling is finished at this intersection, SH2 southbound traffic will join the northbound traffic up on the temporary road. From that point things at Korokoro will be full speed ahead. We will be cutting down to rail level and lifting the first span of the Korokoro Overbridge into place in October.

Progress - May 2008

Construction on the D2P site has continued to make pleasing progress over the last two months. We are still on programme, and we're thrilled to have our first major bridge span up over the railway line for the new Dowse Interchange. We are continuing to make the most of the long summer; always aware that this coming winter has the potential to be very wet, which can disrupt construction progress.

The first major bridge span at Dowse Interchange forms the top section of what the construction team refer to as 'east bridge' - the bridge that links the Interchange structure to Hutt Road. The 18 Super T beams that make up this span were all installed during the day on one Saturday. This was a fantastic achievement as the team had originally anticipated it would take the Sunday as well. As the Mechanically Stabilised Earth (MSE) wall on the far side of Hutt Road has taken shape, the path of the bridge over, and then curving back to, Hutt Road is quite clear. This MSE wall is now at about 95% of its finished height, and due to be finished in April.

The piling team returned to site for a few days in February to construct the piles for a 'soldier pile' wall at the Korokoro end of the project. The reason that none of you have seen this wall is because you're currently driving over it! The piles were inserted in the road just south of the Korokoro traffic signal intersection in the northbound lane, during a weekend lane closure, and then covered with asphalt. Later in the project, the hump that currently goes up to the Korokoro lights will be excavated right up to the edge of the piles, so they will form the retaining wall that raises Pito-One Road from SH2.

Some of you may recall that, for most of February, the footbridge span across SH2 was resting on temporary supports. This was so that the old supports could be demolished and rebuilt. The supports over by the cemetery were replaced in almost exactly the same place, but the supports on the railway side of SH2 were moved closer to the rail to accommodate the realignment of SH2 later in the project. Once the new supports were finished, the span was craned in to its final location during a Saturday night closure of SH2. The shorter span over the railway line was also replaced on the same night, using a smaller crane.

Many of may have noticed that the deep gully at Korokoro, which used to house the recycling station, is now completely full and looking somewhat like a road. This is correct. As part of the traffic management logistics for construction of the new Korokoro Bridge, we are creating four lanes of temporary SH2 over this gully. Northbound traffic will move on to this road within the next few months. Once the project is finished, this area is to be landscaped in consultation with Hutt City Council.

Progress - March 2008

Dry weather allowed for excellent progress during January and February. In general, construction is progressing well on all fronts and critical activities are running to schedule. The focus is now on completing some major milestones.

Piling is complete at the Korokoro Overbridge east abutment(?? Where is this in laymen's terms). Motorists may have noticed the columns, which are clearly visible from SH2. Work in this area now pauses while the team focuses on construction of the Dowse Interchange, which must be finished before the existing Korokoro Bridge is closed.

Piling is also finished on both sides of SH2 for the new Petone Station Park and Ride vehicle bridge, and for the Dowse 'North and South' Bridges (the accesses either side of the highway).

The first of nine mechanically-stabilised earth walls is quickly taking shape along Hutt Road. This wall will form part of the ramp from Dowse Interchange to the new Hutt Road roundabout. Work on the second of these walls, roughly opposite the temporary Dowse Drive intersection, will begin shortly.

The biggest milestone to date was lifting the bridge spans of the Petone Park and Ride pedestrian footbridge in to place. This involved closing SH2 for about 10 hours while a team of 30 people and a large crane took the old bridge spans off the footbridge and then lifted new spans on to temporary supports. This has meant the footbridge remained in use while the columns were demolished and re-built. A second SH2 closure took place in late-February when the new spans were lifted to their final location.

In other work, the team is pleased to have used demolition material from the Korokoro industrial area buildings to successfully fill the gully at Korokoro (where the recycling bins used to be). This area will be used as part of a temporary intersection while the new Korokoro Overbridge is being built, and then it will be landscaped.

Progress - January 2008

Dry Weather allowed for excellent progress during January, with much being achieved despite only working for three weeks. In general, construction activities are progressing well on all fronts with critical activities tracking on programme. All focus is now set on completing some of the major milestones targeted for early 2008.

The team are pleased to have been able to make use of the demolition material from the Korokoro Industrial Area buildings. Much of it was successfully used as fill in the gully at Korokoro where the recycling bins used to be. This area will be used as part of a temporary intersection while the new Korokoro Overbridge is being built, before being landscaped as per the final design.

Piling has now been completed at Korokoro Overbridge east abutment, and the columns are clearly visible from SH2. Work in this area now pauses for some months while the team focus on construction of the Dowse Interchange; which must be finished before the existing Korokoro Bridge can be closed. Piling has also been completed on both sides of SH2 for the new Park and Ride vehicle bridge, and all piles for the Dowse "North and South" Bridges is completed.

The first of nine Mechanically Stabilised Earth (MSE) walls on the project is quickly taking shape alongside Hutt Road. This wall will form part of the ramp from Dowse Interchange to the new Hutt Road roundabout. Work on the second MSE wall on this project, roughly opposite the temporary Dowse Drive intersection, will begin shortly.

Our biggest milestone to date was the span lifts involved in part one of the Petone Park n Ride pedestrian footbridge upgrade. This involved closing SH2 for about 10 hours while a team of 30 people and a big crane took the old spans off the footbridge and then lifted new spans on to temporary supports so that the footbridge remains operational while the permanent columns are demolished and re-built. A second SH2 closure will take place in late February when the new spans are lifted to their final location.

Refer to the latest construction photos
Refer to the latest media releases