Western Belfast Bypass almost finished

Transcription

1 ROADS OF NATIONAL SIGNIFICANCE CHRISTCHURCH MOTORWAYS Western Belfast Bypass PROJECT UPDATE October 2017 Western Belfast Bypass almost finished The Western Belfast Bypass (WBB) project is 95 per cent complete with work set to ramp up over the next few weeks as the team finishes the project. Traffic will be switched onto the new bypass in stages from early November. This staged opening will allow the project team to complete the final parts of the project, such as connecting the bypass up to the existing road network and carrying out surfacing work on the on/off ramps. A northbound lane (heading towards Picton) will open to traffic first, followed by a southbound lane (heading towards Christchurch International Airport) about a week later. A temporary speed limit and traffic management will be in place while the team finish the remaining parts of the project. Weather dependent, we expect all lanes of the WBB to open to traffic in December The team will be back to lay the final low noise asphalt surfacing in spring 2018.

2 2 Western Belfast Bypass Project update October 2017 The Groynes If you are one of the many people who head to The Groynes in your down time you will have noticed the new look entrance, which opened to traffic in June. Traffic now travels under the Groynes Drive Overpass Bridge and through a new roundabout. A new shared footpath on Groynes Drive makes walking and cycling to The Groynes much easier and provides a link to the Waimairi walkway which now starts from Groynes Drive at the base of the new overpass. The Groynes, including the swingbridge and walking tracks, is now fully open. Thanks for your patience and understanding as we worked around this area. Environment Minimising environmental impact has been a key focus for the project team. We have worked closely with ECan to ensure all standards are met. Around 118,000 plants, shrubs and trees have been planted along the project. Most of these are grown from seeds and cuttings sourced from native plants in the Canterbury area. During the project more than 3,500 native fish (including long fin and short fin eels, giant bully and inanga) have been rescued and relocated to other parts of the waterway. Where the WBB passes over waterways (Horrell Drain and Darroch Street Drain), culverts have been designed to allow fish passage and riparian planting has been restored with native species More than 3,500 native fish have been relocated during WBB construction.

3 3 Western Belfast Bypass Project update October 2017 Cycling and walking A new subway linking the Waimairi Walkway and the Otukaikino Track opened in August. The subway will take pedestrians under the new motorway. A stylised aerial view of the Waimakariri River features on its walls - a design element that has been used throughout the project. A 300 metre shared path has also been constructed in the southern part of the project, linking into walking and cycling facilities on the Johns Road Groynes to Sawyers Road section of the Western Corridor. This connects to the new shared path on Groynes Drive and provides walking and cycling connections to The Groynes. The bridges Three bridges, Groynes Drive Overpass, Dickeys Road Overpass and the Northern Onramp Overpass, are being constructed to take WBB traffic up and over local roads. The Northern Onramp Overpass is the largest of the three structures at 9m high and spanning 25m over the road below. It s expected to carry 24,000 vehicles every day at opening with 9,500 vehicles passing underneath on the new on-ramp. Groynes Drive Overpass bridge While they look impressive, a lot of the work that went into these bridges is underground, hidden from view. Before the project team could start building they had to carry out ground improvement work, constructing around 2,400 columns of gravel and stone into the ground to make it denser. This reduces the effects of liquefaction and ensures the bridge embankments remain stable, preventing damage to the bridge structures during an earthquake. In addition, more than 30 steel-encased concrete piles support each bridge, buried meters below ground level making the structures a lot more complicated to build! Dickeys Road Overpass bridge The Northern Onramp Overpass is the largest of the three WBB bridges.

4 The WBB is a new four-lane, 5km stretch of highway. 5 DI D OA SR EY CK Bypassing Belfast, it will extend the Christchurch Northern Motorway (SH1) and connect into State Highway 1 (SH1) Johns Road, west of The Groynes entrance. Cycling and walking A new subway linking the Waimairi Walkway and the Otukaikino Track opened in August. The subway will take pedestrians under the new motorway. A stylised aerial view of the Waimakariri River features on its walls - a design element that has been used throughout the project. The Otukaikino Track A new subway has been built to take the Otukaikino Walking track under the bypass. The subway was opened in August A 300 metre shared path has also been constructed in the southern part of the project, linking into walking and cycling facilities on the Johns Road Groynes to Sawyers Road section of the Western Corridor. This connects to the new shared path on Groynes Drive and provides walking and cycling connections to The Groynes. The bridges N ER T ES Three bridges, Groynes Drive Overpass, Dickeys Road Overpass and the Northern Onramp Overpass, are being constructed to take WBB traffic up and over local roads. The Northern Onramp Overpass is the largest of the three structures at 9m high and spanning 25m over the road below. It s expected to carry 24,000 vehicles every day at opening with 9,500 vehicles passing underneath on the new on-ramp. T AS F L BE Access to and from the Bypass from the Northern Motorway and Main North Road The bypass will connect directly with the Northern Motorway. S AS P BY On and off-ramps will link Main North Road to the Northern Motorway. The bypass will go over the northbound Main North Road on-ramp on a bridge. The bypass will also have a bridge over Dickeys Road. MA IN W Groynes Drive Overpass bridge What s happening now While they look impressive, a lot of the work that went into these bridges is underground, hidden from view. Before the project team could start building they had to carry out ground improvement work, constructing around 2,400 columns of gravel and stone into the ground to make it denser. The construction team is currently working on each end of the project where the WBB connects into the existing road network and where three new bridges are being constructed. The Walkway TheWaimairi Waimairi Walkway AAnew newwalkway walkwaylinking linkingthe thewaimairi Waimairi walkway walkwaywith withgroynes GroynesDrive Driveisisnow now open with final landscaping to be open with final landscaping to be completed completedover overthe thenext nextfew fewweeks. weeks. This reduces the effects of liquefaction and ensures the bridge embankments remain stable, preventing damage to the bridge structures during an earthquake. In addition, more than 30 steel-encased concrete piles support each bridge, buried meters below ground level making the structures a lot more complicated to build! M OT O RW AY 4 NO RT HE RN Project update October 2017 NO RT HR OA D 3 Western Belfast Bypass THE GROYNES Dickeys Road Overpass bridge E ES DRIV GROYN CLEARWATER AVE The Northern Onramp Overpass is the largest of the three WBB bridges. The new bridges will carry WBB traffic above Groynes Drive, Dickeys Road and the new Northern Motorway on-ramp. BELFAST AD JOHNS RO Access to and from the bypass from Johns Road The bypass will connect directly with the western portion of Johns Road. A bridge will be constructed to take the bypass over the top of Groynes Drive. On and off-ramps will connect the western and eastern sections of Johns Road. Traffic on Johns Road heading to Belfast will use the off-ramp and Groynes Drive. Traffic heading from Belfast towards the airport will use the southbound on-ramp. Over the past few months the team has been constructing the main parts of the three bridge structures - the abutments and bridge decks. Work on the concrete safety barriers and construction of approach embankments, drainage and street lighting is well underway. Once this work is complete the project team will start laying the road surface on top of the structures. The new 2km long stretch of highway in the middle of the project is almost complete. This new stretch of road has been out of the public view during construction but it is almost traffic-ready with just road marking and a safety check to go.

5 6 Western Belfast Bypass Project update October 2017 Open Day Your chance to walk or cycle over the central section of the WBB Save the date Sunday 29 October 2017 Western Belfast Bypass Plans are underway for a community open day on Sunday 29 October. Keep an eye out for more details over the next few weeks. During the open day people will be invited to walk or cycle over the central section of the WBB. This will be a once in a lifetime opportunity as there will be no cycling or walking on the motorway once it opens to traffic. PROJECT UPDATE September 2017 Facts and figures Cost $122 million Started May ,000 vehicles per day 600,000m 3 of gravel 118,000 plants, shrubs and trees The WBB project will cost around $122 million including design, consents, land as well as construction. The project started in May 2015 and is on track to open ahead of schedule. On opening, the bypass will carry around 24,000 vehicles per day. 600,000m 3 of gravel has been carted from the Waimakariri River and McLeans Island quarries for the project 118,000 plants, shrubs and trees will be planted. Most of these are grown from seeds and cuttings sourced from native plants in the Canterbury area. The big picture The WBB is one of the six sections of the Christchurch Western Corridor, a multimillion dollar project that will transform State Highway 1 between Belfast and Hornby. The upgrade will reduce congestion and improve travel times, provide better walking and cycling connections and boost safety. More than 3,500 native fish 120,000m 2 of geotextile fabric 12km of wire rope safety barrier More than 3,500 native fish (including long fin and short fin eels, giant bully and inanga) have been rescued and relocated to other parts of the waterway. 120,000m 2 (the size of 14 rugby fields) of geotextile fabric has been installed in the overpass embankments to provide extra stability. 12km of wire rope safety barrier will be installed in the median and along the sides of the new highway, improving safety. The Western Corridor is one of three corridors that make up the Christchurch Motorways Roads of National Significance (RoNS) programme. More information about the Christchurch Motorways projects can be found here: christchurch-motorways. For urgent enquiries (24 hours) Fulton Hogan, Canterbury 0800 ROAD FH ( ) Keeping you informed For more information on this project or to give feedback: wbb@nzta.govt.nz Natalie Dixon or Geoff Griffiths, NZ Transport Agency Ash Mitchell, Fulton Hogan Greg Larcombe, Opus International Consultants Follow us on nztasouthisland nztacwc Check for traffic delays at You can request project updates via our website or by ing us.