14 | Gorge repair tracking well T T from page 12 NZTA - Whangarei: SH1 Mangamuka Gorge REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT Because the corridor is very narrow, the project has been undertaken in a staged approach, with the first stage being an enabling stage to ensure the gorge was safe and stable enough to accommodate the large machinery to carry out the permanent slip works, and involved just under 750 soft and hard piles. As the enabling work was progressively completed, contractors commenced the permanent work in parallel, starting with the 15 critical slips. “What we mean by critical is that there is a risk of catastrophic failure of the entire corridor, with very long-term closure, so those slips were obviously a priority. “All enabling work has now been finished and we are into the permanent piling and excavation work. A lot of the enabling and permanent work is about reinforcing and creating really strong retaining walls throughout the corridor. “There are also some significant earthworks. In one slip at the southern end, there is a major cut that realigns the road and involves approximately 30,000 cubic metres of material. In context, that represents 1700 dump trucks, or 12 Olympic sized swimming pools of soil.” T T to page 16 Having established Harbour Civil Contracting Solutions (HCCS) just two years ago, Managing Director CaineMitchell feels privileged that his business is playing a role in the signi icant SH1 Mangamuka Gorge slip repair project; part of the Far North state highway resilience programme. “We have been working on the Mangamuka Gorge project since August last year, running sites for CLL Services, a tier one piling company. They contract toWaka Kotahi NZTA on theMangamuka Gorge project andwe contract to them. We are grateful for the opportunities that this project and CLL have o ered our business.” Caine says running a site involves a wide range of activities on the project, including overseeing specialisedmachinery to drill pile holes 1050mmwide by 30metres deep, inserting the steel cages in themand then pouring the concrete piles. We are also on quite a slope of a hill so we have to level the pads that the drillingmachines sit on as we go. It is quite challenging work, but very rewarding.” Prior to taking the opportunity to start his own business, Caine worked for CLL for a number of years, mastering his trade as a pile driller. “When I worked for CLL I always Enjoying the challenges worked hard, usedmymanners and was polite. That helpedme to keep on their radar. With a young family, startingmy own business was a way that I could structuremy work around a family lifestyle, and so far that has worked out.” While Caine’s ultimate goal was to base his business around drilling large industrial foundations piles, early projects included keystone retaining walls and some residential work including piling, retaining walls, drilling for pole sheds, landscaping, earthworks, and driveways. His break came when HCCS was contracted to do piling for a king ish farmat Ruakaka, for NIWA. Based in Dargaville, and operating throughout Northland, and the Far North, HCCS has progressively grown to a teamof four, mostly subcontracting to tier one civil contractors. Caine says being open, honest, no smoke andmirrors and working hard has been a key to the success of his young company. “The business will continue to grow, so that I can givemy team careers and training, and get themall quali ied to do what they do, so that they can run their own crews. It is important to provide people in this region with real employment opportunities that pay well.” 027 240 4514 caine.hccs@gmail.com HCCSDRILLANDFILL Proud to be working with Waka Kotahi NZTA on the Mangamuka Gorge project HCCS is your civil contracting provider. Covering a wide range of services, from large-scale industrial piling and civil repairs to domestic driveways and section improvements, no job is too big or small for us! Get in touch today to see how HCCS can help with your civil contracting needs! In addition to repairing the damage caused by the slips, and undertaking major reinforcing work, the project also involves drainage repairs and upgrades through the gorge which will help alleviate some of the risk around further slips.
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