Editorial

‘Tis the season to be awarded, it seems. Over the last month or so, I have received news of no less than seven major award events that recognise outstanding infrastructure and/or construction projects. Be it roading or architecture, sustainable building or engineering, it appears that if you have built it, conceived it, or designed it in the last year, recognition of some sort will shortly be on its way. There is nothing wrong with a plethora of awards – each to their own – and certainly some projects merit a pat on the back from more than one quarter, judging by the complexity and intricacy of the current projects that are nearing completion or have already opened. We celebrate one such project in this edition – the Manukau Harbour Crossing.

Opened seven months ahead of schedule, the duplicate bridge provides vastly increased capacity for traffic travelling along SH20 and faster access to and from the airport. The bridge is a key component of the overall Western Ring Route, one of the government’s roads of national significance, which sees SH20 link up with the Southern Motorway (SH1) via the Manukau Extension (due to open towards the end of this year) and with the Northwestern Motorway via the Waterview Connection (for which the tendering process is now underway), and eventually on round the upper Waitemata Harbour to Hobsonville and Greenhithe to link back up with the Northern Motorway (SH1).

You cannot drive anywhere on Auckland’s motorways at the moment without encountering major roadworks. The southbound lanes of the new Newmarket Viaduct on the Southern Motorway are about to become operational, with construction of a fourth southbound lane from the viaduct to the Greenlane interchange well underway. Construction of the Hobsonville Deviation and Brigham Creek Extension (SH18 and SH16 – another part of the Western Ring Route) is on track. The programme to strengthen the box girders on the Auckland Harbour Bridge will be completed later this year, and the Victoria Park Tunnel project team are set to move the Birdcage Tavern off its site temporarily to enable work to continue there.

“I don’t think Aucklanders will have seen a year like this in terms of the number of large transport projects coming on stream, their value and their impact,” says the NZTA’s regional director for Auckland, Wayne McDonald. Certainly, the agency will require the region’s drivers to add patience and cooperation to their wishlists as the Christmas season looms.

The teams involved with building these major projects certainly deserve the recognition that a major award bestows, but long after the award has been assigned to a cupboard in a boardroom, they can continue to take pride in the knowledge that they have been a part of building our nation’s future.

Until next time ...

Lynne Richardson Editor