18 | Wakatipu Transport Alliance - Kā Huanui a Tāhuna T T to page 20 T T Richard Loader Top award apt reward for QT upgrade The project commenced immediately post-Covid in January 2021, with practical completion in November 2023. REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT Award at this year’s CCNZ Otago Hynds Awards is apt recognition for the hard work put in by all team members of the Whakatipu Transport Programme Alliance (Kā Huanui a Tāhuna), and its three-year journey to complete the Queenstown Town Centre Street Upgrade project. The project also received the Award for Category D, Projects with a value of more than $5 million. Established in 2020, Kā Huanui a Tāhuna is a collaborative working alliance between Queenstown Lakes District Council (QLDC), New Zealand Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA), BECA, WSP, Fulton Hogan and Downer. The alliance was gifted the name Kā Huanui a Tāhuna (The pathways of Tāhuna – Tāhuna being Queenstown) by mana whenua. Funded by CIP (Crown Infrastructure Partners) and by QLDC, the $69m QLDC project involved a major upgrade of underground infrastructure, including utilities and three waters, as well as above-ground assets, including extensive paving, street lighting, outdoor seating, soft and hard landscaping, and provision for bike racking. Alliance programme manager Edward Husband says success at the awards reflects the wider team involved in the project and recognises the many complexities and challenges of the project, which commenced immediately post-Covid in January 2021, with practical completion in November 2023. “Winning the award was just validation of the hard work that went into successfully delivering the project over the best part of three years. The award is also recognition for the alliance owners (QLDC and NZTA), and having the initiative to secure shovel-ready funding and get the work done when there were no tourists in town. They were very nimble in doing so.” While the project work was perfectly timed, with streets normally bustling with tourists being empty due to Covid, Edward says it also presented a public relations challenge for the alliance to navigate. “The project was undertaken immediately post-Covid and there was an extremely stressed and depressed market in Queenstown, which brought a lot of focus on everything occurring in the business sector. People were frustrated because they had no business activity, and we very much became a focal point for people’s frustrations.” 027 433 0531 | 03 344 1597 09 309 8816 | info@designsource.co.nz | 1 Cleveland Road, Parnell Proudly supporting Wakatipu Transport Alliance Call us on 0800 JCL SLD (0800 525 753) today for a quote Asphalt, Chipseal and Construction Specialists DRIVEWAYS TENNIS COURTS CARPARKS SUB DIVISIONS ROADING CONSTRUCTION & PREPARATION WORKS JCL Asphalt www.jclasphalt.co.nz Servicing: Queestown, Cromwell, Alexandra and Wanaka. KEY BUSINESS PARTNER & SUPPLIER TO WAKATIPU TRANSPORT ALLIANCE Queenstown,
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