Australasian Coasts & Ports Conference, 2023, Sunshine Coast, Queensland
Delivery of major transport infrastructure projects at the coast requires a careful balance between numerous project drivers, including cost, program, environmental, regulatory and stakeholder considerations. These often-conflicting drivers have the potential to disrupt a project, if not managed carefully, leading to delays, cost over-run, conflict and sub-optimal outcomes. Show more…The Ngā Ūranga ki Pito-One Project comprises a 4.5 km shared pathway between Ngā Ūranga and Pito-One in Te Whanganui-a-Tara, Wellington. The Project will be located on the seaward side of the state highway and the rail corridor and will provide safe walking and cycling infrastructure and enhance the transport corridor’s resilience. The Project includes all of the above-mentioned drivers including partner and stakeholder expectations, very tight environmental and ecological constraints, budget expectations, a difficult design environment adjacent to a major fault-line and exposed to southerly wind and wave climates, limited local rock supply and construction workspace.
Delivery of the Project from concept design through to construction is being delivered by the Te Ara Tupua Alliance, comprised of owners Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency, working in partnership with mana whenua (Indigenous partners), contractors HEB and Downer and designers Tonkin + Taylor. To address the many project challenges, an innovative approach to design was implemented during initial concept phases. This included an agile design philosophy with sprint design and review cycles enabling fast paced integration of design, construction, environmental and cultural objectives. This approach included several innovations in the final design, most notably the adoption of modified XblocPlus® concrete armour units for primary armouring. These single-layer, pattern-placed units are to be used for the first time in Australasia and have resulted in significant cost and programme savings to the Project, but have also included bespoke modifications to achieve improved aesthetic, ecological and cultural outcomes.Show less…
