32 | T T Richard Loader Easing pressure in Marton The project includes12.5 kilometres of PE pipe, 315mm in diameter, that will convey overflow effluent from the Marton wastewater treatment plant through to the Bulls treatment plant. Reinstatement being done of a section that has been open trenched. The new Marton to Bulls wastewater pipeline is designed to take pressure off the Marton wastewater treatment plant, allowing for the expected growth of Marton township. The project includes12.5 kilometres of PE pipe, 315mm in diameter, that will convey overflow effluent from the Marton wastewater treatment plant through to the Bulls treatment plant. The Rangitikei District Council engaged engineering specialist GHD Ltd to undertake all the design work, while Fulton Hogan Manawatu, was awarded the ECI contract to undertake the work. “In addition to the installation of the pipeline, we also constructed air relief valves, scour valves, and pressure tested the line,” says Fulton Hogan Project Manager Brian Jones. “Scour valves enable the line to be drained for servicing or repairs, while pressure valves release the build-up of air in the line caused through the high and low points of the land’s contour.” While early ground condition tests suggested that the pipeline could be directionally drilled through Bulls township to reduce disruption to the community, it was later found that ground conditions would not allow for that. “There was just too much river run in the ground and we had to use open cut excavation. In the end there was was about a fifty-fifty split between directionally drilling the pipeline, and open cut. We subcontracted the direct drilling component of the work to Utilities Infrastructure NZ.” Brian says that community engagement and traffic management played a large part of the project right throughout. “All the project works have been on the berm, or shoulder of the road, and when you are working within five metres of the carriage-way you are required to have traffic management in place. Fulton Hogan Manawatu has its own internal traffic management team, and as part of our health and safety policy we prefer to use a remotely operated traffic light system. In certain areas you have Fulton Hogan Manawatu no option but to use people. There is a huge responsibility on those people, not just in terms of managing traffic safely, but also in showing the face of Fulton Hogan.” The pipeline route turned off before Bulls CBD and went through a more residential area. A letter-drop prior to working through that area had been undertaken making residents aware of the project, which was followed up by a site supervisor knocking on doors and speaking to residents. “We also closed Mchardies Road off to through traffic, while allowing residents to go through in an effort to accelerate the construction process up and reduce the impact of disruption.” While Fulton Hogan was awarded practical completion on the 14th of September 2022, some work outside of its contract is currently in design and yet to be completed. “The pipeline crosses a couple of river streams and there are still two or three pipe bridges to be designed and installed. There is also a pump station to be built at the Marton end. So, at the moment the pipeline is capped where there are interruptions of the line in a couple of places. We had up to fifteen people working on the project at any one time, including subcontractors, covering a range of roles from truck drivers, machine operators, drainlayers, labourers, through to the traffic management team. We had a really good team of people working on the project, all very REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT knowledgeable with good skills. It was a really good project to be involved in and provided the team with a lot of experience. The project was programmed well to get the work done on time.” Fulton Hogan Manawatu is based in Palmerston North and operates throughout the wider Manawatu and Whanganui regions, covering a wide range of civil infrastructure and road maintenance projects. We are New Zealands top leading experts in bitumen chip sealing practices with over 70 years experience working for Waka Kotathi, Local Authorities and private clientele. CAT 2
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