50 | CONTRACTING Waikato District Council - Mangawara Bridge Collaborative effort key to bridge Karen Phelps The new Mangawara Bridge was a hugely successful project. The highly collaborative nature of the delivery of the Mangawara Bridge project was a key factor in the project winning a 2021 IPWEA NZ Excellence Award for Best Public Works Project $2 million – $5 million, says Luke McCarthy, director of LMC, the consultant project manager. “The same core group of people were driving the project the whole time, which is unusual in a project of this duration and size. This provided stability, consistency and resulted in a highly successful outcome,” he says. The new 60-metre, single span, arch bridge crosses the Mangawara Stream and the aim was to provide better outcomes for the community, a safer passage to Taupiri Maunga, and improved rail network resilience. Key parties to the project were Waikato District Council, Waikato Raupatu Lands Trust (Waikato-Tainui), KiwiRail, Waka Kotahi, Taupiri Marae, Taupiri Urupa Komiti and Taupiri Community Board. Luke says that the project group forged its bond years earlier, which set in place the foundations for the project. He says initial discussions led to the formation of a Memorandum of Understanding and later a Multi-Party Funding Agreement, which kicked off the initial planning and investigation phases for the project including the business case and the inclusion of a crossing in the Waikato District Council 2018 – 2021 Long Term Plan. He says that members of the group worked together to solve any issues that arose and to find solutions quickly. Strong relationships were important and facilitated this process. “For example the project used the Waka Kotahi Business Case approach. Although it is not a new or uncommon approach to follow for project development, it opened up the opportunities to critically evaluate the project outcomes and drove the project forward,” explains Luke. “Likewise KiwiRail contributed knowledge gained from previous bridge construction projects where it had worked closely with many of the same stakeholders. This helped to once again progress the project and save costs.” Communication – both within the group and with other stakeholders and the wider community - was a key aspect of the success of the project. Luke says that the project group members not only met regularly but also assisted with community consultation and engagement with residents including regular newsletters to the wider Taupiri community. “The regularity and structure of the meetings enabled project issues, timelines, and milestones to be openly discussed. “Key project partners such as consultants and constructors also added to the project group meetings, further adding to the understanding of the project, but also providing a platform for challenge and debate,” he says. The project was also runner up in the IPWEA Excellence in Road Safety award. The bridge enabled KiwiRail to close a dangerous level crossing and prevented trespassing on the railway bridge. It also allowed Waka Kotahi to close an unsafe accessway from a busy arterial road. The bridge provides safe vehicular and pedestrian access to the Taupiri Urupa, a site of great significance and has also improved rail freight efficiency and enhanced the immediate environment. Luke says the award was the “icing on the cake” of a hugely successful project: “Everyone involved in the project was aimed at the same outcome – it was just a questions of how we got there in the end. The efforts of the project group saw people give huge amounts of time and commitment. They worked through challenges , sought solutions and worked away in the background. “They stuck together, represented and supported each other when needed and provided a friendly ear or shoulder for advice, direction or action. “This project shows how community projects with multiple stakeholders can be achieved if everyone sits around the same table and is prepared to work together and do what’s needed to make it happen. Awesome people make for awesome projects.”
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