52 | CONTRACTING Fulton Hogan - Whangarei Virginia Wright Bridge benefits estuarine ecosystem Native planting under way on the State Highway 10 Culvert Replacement Project. • Electrical Installations • Wiring & Maintenance 85 Clyde Street, P.O. Box 1396, Whangarei www.currieelectrical.co.nz Email: admin@currieelectrical.co.nz • i ndu s t r i a l • c omme r c i a l • dome s t i c 0800 11 73 77 / 09 277 0572 www.t8traffic.co.nz info@t8traffic.co.nz PO Box 62079, Sylvia Park, Auckland 1644 T8 Traffic Control are proud to support Fulton Hogan Full Traffic Management Service Traffic Control Equipment Special Events & Entertainment Industry If you drive north of Kawakawa on your way to the tip of the North Island it’s State Highway 10 that takes you to within 30 minutes of Cape Reinga. In the late 1960’s a causeway and culvert replaced the old five span bridge that used to cross the Aputerewa Creek at the head of the Mangonui Harbour, largely cutting off the estuarine ecosystem that had previously flourished there. More recently that causeway and culvert were replaced in their turn, with a new bridge, built this time with far greater awareness of the affect man-made constructions have on the environment. Mark Bond, now Fulton Hogan’s Regional Manager for Northland, was their Contract Manager on the State Highway 10 Culvert Replacement Project. “When they built the causeway back in the 60’s, the 450 mm pipe they put in didn’t have the capacity for the tidal flow which negatively impacted on the ecosystem. “We knew that we needed to not only replace the causeway but do it in a way that allowed that ecology to be restored and to flourish,” says Mark. They worked closely with their client Waka Kotahi, tangata whenua, WSP Design and a range of committed sub-contractors, with restoring the environment at the top of everyone’s minds. The client’s original plan of installing a new, box culvert, proved impractical due to the soft footing and they decided instead to replace 6 metres of causeway with a two-lane, overwidth, 14.6 metre wide bridge. It not only allowed the necessary water flows, but mindful of local activities, had room for fishing, and eventually a shared-user path. As a Provincial Growth Fund initiative there were timeframes determining funding. An ECI (Early Contract Involvement) model was adopted and WSP Design and Fulton Hogan worked collaboratively to get construction underway to meet those timeframes. “We were able to have input into the design but more importantly, because of the trust both ways, we worked together. Instead of them spending months on a design to be presented up front, they sequentially prepared the design to match the construction programme, and we did it in stages.” says Mark. From the beginning Civil Engineering requirements were evaluated with positive environmental outcomes in mind. They weren’t just sorting out a logistical transport problem they were building an asset for future generations while righting an historical wrong. To this end, among other things: they re-established the nearby disused quarry as a low carbon source of the material they used to build the temporary causeway they needed in order to dredge and remove over 4000m3 of silt to recreate the original channel; smoko and office rubbish and all scrap metal was recycled at the local refuse centre. The combined effect of these and other initiatives meant that the usual skip was able to be replaced with a single black refuse bag a week. to page 54
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