transmission gully update transmission gully project is one possible part of a package of rail and...

Investigations start on Transmission Gully Project

1

TRANSMISSION GULLY UPDATE

Investigations and preliminary design work on the

Transmission Gully project have started in earnest

on all fi ve contracts awarded for work on this

stage.

Principal Project Manager Rob Whight said the contracts covered road safety audit, traffi c modelling, preliminary geotechnical assessment, cost, risk and value engineering assessment and scheme assessment.

“The Transmission Gully project calls for much detailed and thorough work to be carried out to ensure a robust process is undertaken to establish cost and design options for the project.

“The contractors involved on the different contracts are all well-experienced in their fi elds and provide the best mix of technical and management skills for the Transmission Gully project.”

Mr Whight stressed that the size and complexity of the investigations and planning required for the project necessitated for “no stone to be left unturned” in the work.

“ We are happy with the current progress being made on the project and confi dent that it will enable decisions to be made about the most appropriate engineering solutions, the best overall transportation proposal, and ensure value-for-money is realised for the proposed new route.

“We are confi dent that the integrated programme implemented by Transit for the investigations and preliminary design work will achieve the required objectives,” he said.

• Road Safety Audit – MWH New Zealand• Traffi c Modelling - Sinclair Knight Merz (SKM)• Preliminary Geotechnical Assessment - Opus International

Consultants

• Cost, Risk and Value Engineering Assessment - A second team from Opus International Consultants

• Scheme Assessment - Consortia led by Opus International Consultants & including GHD, Holmes Consulting Group & Boffa Miskell.

Stage 1 Contracts and Contractors

The proposed 27-kilometre Transmission Gully route runs from Linden in the south to MacKay’s Crossing, just north of Paekakariki.

www.transit.govt.nz SPRING 2007

Paekakariki

Wainui Saddle

Battle Hill

Pauatahanui Golf Course

Judgeford

Pauatahanui

Whitby

Waitangirua

CannonsCreek

Pukerua Bay

Plimmerton

Mana

RanuiHeights

Linden

Porirua

NMacKay’s Crossing

Paremata

0592 Transit TG Newsletter.indd 10592 Transit TG Newsletter.indd 1 15/11/07 10:47:34 AM15/11/07 10:47:34 AM

22

PR

OJ

EC

T T

IME

CA

PS

UL

E

1940s I First talk of an inland alternative route for State Highway 1 (SH1) to bypass the coastal areas north of Wellington.

1990 I Region acknowledged that the scale of the project and limited available funding would not allow construction through traditional funding mechanisms and priorities.

17 July 1996 I Designation sought to include the proposed route in the District Plans of Wellington City Council, Porirua City Council, Kapiti Coast District Council and Upper Hutt City Council.

30 July 1997 I Designation approved subject to certain terms and conditions.

12 September 1997 I Transit New Zealand notifi ed its decision accepting the Designation recommendations with minor modifi cations.

July 2005 I Minister of Transport announced $405 million funding towards addressing road transport reliability between MacKay’s Crossing and Linden in the Wellington Western Corridor.

October 2005 I Transit New Zealand and the Greater Wellington Regional Council (GWRC) consulted with the public over the future of the land transport network in the Wellington Western Corridor.

April 2006 I Greater Wellington Regional Council (GWRC) voted to include the Transmission Gully project in the Wellington Western Corridor Plan for adoption in the draft 2005-2009 Regional Land Transport Strategy.

May 2006 I New Zealand Government appropriated $80 million in Budget 2006 to fund the investigation and preliminary design work for the project.

June 2006 I Transit New Zealand’s 10-year State Highway Forecast showed Transmission Gully’s investigation as a top priority for the region subject to the region agreeing on a funding plan.

12 October 2006 I Land Transport NZ approved $9.2 million in funding for investigation of the Transmission Gully project during 2006/07. This allocation is part of the Budget 2006 appropriation of $80 million.

18 October 2006 I The Cabinet Policy Committee agreed to a $405 million Crown contribution for State Highway construction in the Wellington Western Corridor.

31 October 2006 I The Greater Wellington Regional Land Transport Committee agreed to a Draft Regional Land Transport Strategy (RLTS) for consultation which included Transmission Gully in the 10-year transport programme but noted a signifi cant funding gap for the project.

22 December 2006 I The fi rst of fi ve contracts for the Stage 1 Investigations and Preliminary Design phase of the Transmission Gully project was awarded. The traffi c modelling contract was awarded to Sinclair Knight Merz (SKM).

23 January 2007 I Road Safety Audit contract awarded to MWH.

14 May 2007 I Preliminary geotechnical assessment contract awarded to Opus International Consultants.

I Cost, risk and value engineering assessment contract awarded to a second team from Opus International Consultants.

18 July 2007 I Scheme Assessment Contract awarded to a consortia led by Opus International Consultants. Other consortia partners are GHD, Holmes Consulting Group and Boffa Miskell.

6 August 2007 I Contract awarded to Excell Corporation to plant 62,000 New Zealand-indigenous trees along the proposed Transmission Gully route.

Mid - 2008 I Cost and design options for Transmission Gully project expected to be available.


3

Gully Snapshot What is the purpose of the Transmission Gully project?

The Transmission Gully project is one possible part of a package of rail and road options that are intended to address congestion, traffi c fl ow and road safety in the Wellington region.

Why has there been an interest for so many

years about a possible route through Transmission Gully?

For more than 50 years, there has been recognition of a potential alternative inland route for State Highway 1 (SH1). Proposals to develop this route date to World War II when it was suggested that a road could be constructed through the Gully for military purposes. The option of building a route through Transmission Gully as an alternative to SH1 was fi rst seriously considered by the Wellington Regional Council in the late 1980s.

How much will the Transmission Gully project cost?

Investigatory work is currently being carried out to determine this.

What funding has been approved so far?

On October 12, 2006, Land Transport New Zealand’s Board approved $9.2 million in funding that will enable Transit New Zealand to proceed with the fi rst stage of the investigation to determine the feasibility of the project. In its 2006 budget, the Government signalled that $80 million was available for the complete investigatory and design phase for the project.

Does this mean that the project will proceed to

construction stage?

While funds have been approved for the fi rst stage of investigation, the project as a whole has not been given the ‘green light’ to proceed. The purpose of the fi rst stage is to establish the feasibility of the project, ascertain likely costs and to report back with the fi ndings.

What will happen when these fi ndings are available?

The fi ndings will then be presented to regional and local authorities to allow funding options to be developed for future construction.

Transit New Zealand has

awarded a $605,000 contract

to Excell Corporation

to plant about

62,000 New Zealand-

indigenous trees

along the proposed

Transmission Gully

route.

The work, mainly concentrated in fi ve areas along the 27km-route, will be

carried out over the next three years as part of the conditions of the Designation agreed

by Transit when it applied to have the proposed route included in the district plans of local councils in the area.

This contract is in addition to the fi ve Professional Services contracts awarded by Transit for the Stage 1 investigation and preliminary design phase of the Transmission Gully project that it is undertaking on behalf of the Government.

Transit Wellington Regional Manager, Graham Taylor said that apart from meeting agreed Designation conditions, the planting is also being carried out to provide erosion and sediment control, stream shade and ecological enhancement, and will be undertaken in conjunction with fencing off and retiring the areas from grazing.

“Excell, which has completed similar work along the route in the past and were familiar with the challenges of the terrain, will also be responsible for the ongoing care of the plants to prevent weed infestation and damage by possums, rabbits and hares,” he said.

Mr Taylor said Transit placed tremendous importance on environmental initiatives and worked closely with the Department of Conservation and local regional and local councils

to determine the species to be planted in the area.

To date, Transit had planted about 92,000 Wellington-indigenous plants in the Transmission Gully planting programme and the latest contract awarded will complete this work.

“We are pleased to report that the trees and shrubs planted previously are now well-established and beginning to show above the surrounding gorse,” he said.

Well-established shrubs and trees along the proposed Transmission Gully route show the success of the planting programme.

Transit New Zealand

awarded a $605,000

to Excell Corpora

to plant about

62,000 New Ze

indigenous tr

along the pro

Transmission

route.

The work, mainly concentrated in fi ve aalong the 27km-route

carried out over the next three yepart of the conditions of the Designatio

Planting along Transmission Gully


CONTACT US

Email: [email protected]: 64 4 801 4964

If you would like to fi nd out more about

the Transmission Gully project:

4

Meet the Transmission Gully Project Team

Rob Whight

Principal Project Manager

Joining Transit from the UK, Rob was previously Director Project Delivery at John Laing, Senior Project Manager at AEA Technology Rail, as well as serving with the Royal Navy.

Whilst with John Laing, Rob was responsible for the £70 million Evergreen II project to upgrade the railway line between Bicester North and London Marylebone.

The project, the UK’s fi rst PFI project in the rail industry, was delivered on time and 10% under budget.

Rob, wife Dianne and their two wee ones are looking forward to their fi rst Kiwi christmas this year.

Peter Ward

Project Engineer

With Transit for just over fi ve years, Peter started his civil engineering career with the Ministry of Works where he worked on numerous large projects in the Invercargill, Milford and Queenstown areas.

He then took up a consultant position with Opus in Napier where he worked on Lake Waikaremoana road project and various other large projects throughout the North and South Islands.

Peter says his wife, three children and lots of pets keep him busy outside of work with other interests including tramping and playing bridge.

Ian Gray

Property Manager

Ian was previously Senior Adviser Assets Management & Maintenance for Public Prisons and Community Probation Service, and before that undertaking compensation and disposal activities for government departments, including a stint with Simpson Grierson as a legal executive in conveyancing.

Ian has served on the Hillary Commission Committee, Porirua City Council and various Gun Club committees over the years.

Ian also shows and breeds pedigree Persian cats - with the family, “particularly the grandchildren”, keeping them constantly busy.

Tim Davies

Project Control Engineer

Born in North Wales, Tim has worked on design and construction scheduling for the past 12 years. Tim specialises in the use of dedicated scheduling software and cost control techniques to help keep projects on track.

Visiting New Zealand with his wife on their honeymoon in 1999, the couple have wanted to return ever since. They eventually moved to New Zealand in April 2007 when the opportunity to work on the Transmission Gully Project came up.

Tim is a keen motorcyclist, dog owner and DIY enthusiast.

Craig Nicholson

Transportation Planner

Before joining Transit, Craig worked in engineering consultancy for many years on varied projects throughout New Zealand and overseas.

In 2003, he undertook an assignment as a Volunteer Service Abroad (VSA) volunteer in the Kingdom of Bhutan where he advised the Bhutanese government on the key traffi c engineering and traffi c safety problems facing their national road network.

Living in Tawa with his wife and young son, Craig says he is relishing the chance to work on such an important strategic infrastructure project for the Wellington region.

Frank Fernandez

Communications &

Stakeholder Liaison Manager

Prior to Transit, Frank headed or provided strategic advice on Corporate Communications activities in corporations such as HSBC, ANZ Bank, Royal & SunAlliance, AgResearch, Celentis, TranzRail and Waitakere City Council, as well as running his own Marketing Communications consultancy.

Also a former business investment columnist, he has an intimate knowledge of fi nancial and equity markets - and admits to still taking an “active” interest in this area.

Having lived in Tawa for many years, Frank is looking forward to the day when the ‘fi rst sod” is turned on the project.

Sina Asi

Administration and

Information Offi cer

Sina started in Transit in November 2006 with the Wellington Regional Offi ce before joining the Transmission Gully project team in October 2007.

She also previously worked in the tourism and hospitality sector in Wellington and Queenstown, and has recently completed her Legal Executive Certifi cate.

Partner Fa’ali’i, son Ethan (3yrs) and daughter Dylin (1yr) keep her very active and busy outside of work while other interests include socialising with family and friends - and “discovering new adventures in Wellington”.


transmission gully update transmission gully project is one possible part of a package of rail and...

Documents