Major Cycle Route – Nor’West Arc Section 1a

Purpose

Te Ara O-Rakipaoa Nor’West Arc is part of a city-wide cycling network easing the pressure on our roads and making it safer and easier for everyone get around.

For more information on the cycleways visit www.ccc.govt.nz/cycleways

A large part of the cycleway is a greenway where people driving and cycling share the road space, while there are separated paths through Centennial Park and a separated cycleway along Domain Terrace.

Overview

Isaac Construction successfully completed the construction of one of Christchurch City's Major Cycleway Routes, Te Ara O-Rakipaoa, Nor'West Arc Section 1A. The purpose of the project was to create a safe cycle route via separated cycleway, shared path and greenway (road sharing) from Princess Margaret Hospital (PMH) through to the University of Canterbury, with Section 1A spanning from PMH down to the Annex Road underpass. The route is expected to be used primarily by commuters and students as it connects to a number of other major cycleway routes across the city.

The scope of the project involved several isolated intersection upgrades with new drainage, kerb & channel, footpath, cycleway, shared path, and raised road crossing construction, as well as shoulder and carriageway reconstructions, traffic pole installations, new garden beds and berms, signage and line marking.

To successfully complete the work scope required, Isaac Construction self-delivered a significant portion of the project works, including overall project management (Risk, H&S, QAQC and Environmental, etc.), all temporary traffic management, survey and set-out, site clearance, drainage, carriageway metal course construction and final surfacing. Our experience, knowledge and resources enabled us to deliver the completed project to the highest standards of Quality and Health and Safety in the most optimal timeframe possible.

To successfully deliver the works within the tendered timeframes, our overarching strategy was to deploy a large number of crews working simultaneously in different areas across the project. Given the scale and scope of the project, this reduced the amount of temporary traffic management in any one section of the contract, thus reducing the amount of disruption to residents and road users. See Table 1 below for a summary of the program.

Challenges

The construction of the Nor'West Arc Section 1A cycleway posed a number of technically difficult situations.

Multiple Work Sites

A robust construction program with proactive, sound and reasonable traffic management strategies was submitted at the time of tender, which detailed the sequence and method for undertaking each separable portion; see Appendix 1 – 1.0 for the tender program. This program was adjusted regularly to reflect scope, acceleration and any slippage that occurred.

During the first 12 weeks of the project, up to 14 technical, open and isolated work sites were active at any time involving intersection upgrades. Each required highly skilled crews and plant suited to operation in residential areas to minimise impacts and disruptions. Essentially, each intersection was a mini site requiring a Traffic Management Plan and compliance monitoring – several of which had very specific stakeholder needs at varying key times over the course of a day - and different degrees of upgrades to services, footpaths, carriageways, berms, landscaping beds, etc.

To ensure effective and efficient management over all of the sites, a daily site diary was created for all site staff to fill in to track their progress and capture any detail that may have otherwise been lost due to the sheer amount of work being undertaken at each busy site; see Appendix 1 – 2.0 for an example of the site diary. We found this was an invaluable strategy for managing all of the sites in conjunction with daily planning meetings with the project team to keep ahead of the ever-changing design. In addition, this level of planning allowed us to have minimal downtime due to design changes and to maintain the tight project program.

Ground Conditions

Poor ground conditions were identified early in the planning phase with a desktop study undertaken using data available online via the NZ Geotechnical Database; see Appendix 1 – 3.0 for the information captured by the desktop study. This helped us to develop a detailed plan to complete the works within a tight timeframe. In addition, prior to the commencement of the main body of works, we pushed to be able to carry out extensive pre-construction investigative works, particularly focussing on areas identified as having ground conditions likely to impact our scope of work. As a result, our pot-holing program and recording of onsite data confirmed the validity and constructability of the design as well as being the most effective way to increase efficiency during construction and deliver the best value to our client.

Soft soil in conjunction with a high water table at the northern end of the site was identified as a project risk during construction. This resulted in significant lengths of new drainage needing to have rafting below the pipes and be concrete-encased at a number of locations across the site. Again, because we had done early investigations, we were able to advise and discuss with the design team what we had found and outline the cost implications early on.

Ground conditions and extensive existing known and unknown services also impacted traffic pole installation at the Lincoln Road crossing, resulting in larger than designed foundations to provide adequate support. In addition, delays caused by the technical difficulty posed by the ground conditions meant that resources had to be diverted at short notice to other project sites to keep to our program.

Various Land Classifications

Across the project, there were a number of HAIL sites, contaminated land, unexpected archaeological discoveries and historical sites, all of which required the project team to think on their feet and be flexible enough on a day-to-day basis to adjust and divert resources as required. That flexibility enabled efficient utilisation of project resource and ensured we did not deviate from our program.

Of particular prevalence was the presence of coal tar. This was identified as a technical risk and potentially very costly to the project. As a result, the client undertook testing to identify the extent of the coal tar across the project, which enabled us to gather an understanding of where it was located and to what extent.

We educated our teams on the Isaac Construction procedure for coal tar removal, which involved the following:

• All staff using the appropriate PPE for coal tar removal in line with our internal procedure
• Excavation of the carriageway and footpath areas in dry and calm conditions
• Testing the excavated material using the Coffee Tea Test and the Paint Test to confirm the presence of coal tar
• Loading the contaminated material into designated and lined site tipper trucks and transported to our temporary PMH yard
• Placing of the material into a lined and bunded area of the PMH yard
• Loaded into coal tar bins and transported to Kate Valley

Our rigorous testing of the material helped to ensure only contaminated material was being taken to Kate Valley, thus saving our client on costs for excessive spoil removal, but it also enabled us to identify areas onsite where coal tar had not been found with the pre-construction investigation work.

Testimonials

Rebekah Billingham – The Village – Lincoln Road

Isaac Construction undertook construction of the cycleway/shared path and traffic light crossing outside The Village Lincoln Road’s Integrated Healthcare Services complex from January 2021 until February 2021. We found that all the staff working onsite were very friendly and went above and beyond to ensure our staff, tenants, customers, clients, and patients were able to safely access our businesses. If there was ever an issue, they were very responsive, available, and able to work quickly to deal with any problems which resulted in effective solution/s being provided. We found them approachable and accountable which meant limited disruptions to our businesses and their operations.

They were respectful in not working on our property until the purchase of land was finalised and did their best to coordinate their works around our needs while undertaking a significant amount of work on a busy main road.

We are happy the lights have been put in as now our staff and patients can safely cross Lincoln Road to access our businesses. Another positive was the fact that Isaac Construction arranged for and installed a special bike repair station outside our complex. This has been a great addition for our café business as it encourages people to take a break and grab a coffee or bite to eat after pumping their tyres up. The cycleway running past our café has also helped to improve the look of the area and we are finding we are busier than ever with so many people in the community using the cycle path.

We look forward to seeing the project team and crews around on more construction jobs in Christchurch.

Richard Bailey – Peloton

Isaac Construction successfully completed the construction of one of Christchurch City’s Major Cycleway Routes, Te Ara O-Rakipaoa, Nor’West Arc Section 1A. The purpose of the project was to create a safe cycle route from Princess Margaret Hospital through to the University of Canterbury, Section 1A spanning from PMH down to the Annex Road underpass. The route is expected to be used primarily by commuters and students as it connects to a number of other major cycleway routes across the city.

The scope of the project involved a number of isolated intersection upgrades with new drainage, kerb & channel, footpath, and raised road crossing construction, as well as shoulder and carriageway reconstructions, traffic pole installations, new garden beds and berms, signage and line marking. This was to facilitate the installation of a separated cycleway over this route.

As Client Representative for Christchurch City Council for this overall Major Cycleway Projects, I have worked with the Isaac project team since August 2020 and watched them deliver an ambition project involving construction from Section 1A Part 1 from Cashmere Road to Rose Street, and Section 1A Part 2 Centennial Park, and Section 1C from Lincoln Road to Annex Road being delivered prior to Christmas and on program. This significant effort from the Isaac Construction crews, sub-contractors, and the tight-knit project team enabling all involved to cohesively deliver the ambitious project on time and to a high standard.

Given the impact of the project on over 1000 residents and several businesses along the cycle route, Isaac’s managed the community communications through an empathetic and collaborative approach that was demonstrated by all staff involved with the project and greatly appreciated by residents across the sites. Both stakeholders and the client have provided positive feedback on the seamless project communications and the use of a new webpage for keeping interested parties up to date on the weekly progress across the project.

A number of challenges were encountered across the project involving but not limited to, HAIL sites, archaeological sites, historic sites, contaminated land, property acquisition delays, and other ground condition related issues. These were all delt with collaboratively, promptly, and in a forthright manner that ultimately achieved progression of the project as all key project team members drove to keep to the program.

I found the Isaac’s project team very proactive and responsive when dealing with issues that came up on site, they were very easy to deal with in working through many on site complexities and were consistent in offering added value solutions to any issues that arose over the course of the project.

Lyn Hayes – Resident

In the last few months of last year the City Council converted our streets into shared car/cycle streets. Part of doing this was extensive work narrowing the corners and some of the road to slow the traffic down. This work was carried out by Isaac Construction.

Before the work began we had a meeting which included the people in charge of the job and it was explained what was going on. I was also given phone numbers and email addresses to contact the managers of the job for any reason.

Probably, I was most affected as I live on the corner where most of the work was done and was home most of the time. It was at times noisy, dusty and a nuisance but was certainly made easier because of the fantastic Isaac workers. They were extremely aware of the residents and did everything in the power to make it bearable. If our drives were going to be blocked we were given plenty of notice. I was also impressed with their attitude and behaviour. As it was Spring/Summer I was spending quite a bit of time in my garden. Most of the time they would not have been aware I was there and could hear them. In all that time I never once heard any bad language. As I had worked in commercial construction for 20 years I certainly was impressed with that. As a trained HR

and H&S person I could tell that the staff were happy in their work and very professional. It was obvious that Isaac’s were a good employer. All during the job the Supervisor would pop in to check with me that all was well.

Over all I was very impressed with the work and the performance and the friendliness of the workers. All the neighbours are very impressed with the finished product. The work that was carried out looks great and with the gardens it has certainly made our streets look better and probably have increased the value of our properties.

Tony Lockington - Canterbury District Health Board

Isaac Construction was the main contractor for the MCR Nor’West Arc Section 1A project which involved but was not limited to works from Lincoln Road down to the Annex Road underpass. The construction involved a new shared path, new lighting, new landscaped areas, new kerb and channel and partial reconstruction of the carriageway down Annex Road from the Mokihi Gardens roundabout.

We were engaged early on by the contractor and had their plans discussed with us. They were happy to take our feedback and co-ordinate with us on getting information out to our employees and were flexible in their traffic management plans to make changes as required to make access into and out of our complex safe.

We were particularly happy with the management of communications over the course of the project. We received regular updates and prompt responses from the project team, and anything urgently requiring attention was promptly dealt with in a collaborative, professional and efficient manner.

We are pleased with the end result now construction is finished. Annex Road is much more user friendly, parking for staff has largely been retained, the landscaping looks great and the lighting has made a huge difference to the overall street appeal. Our staff have reported feeling safer since the upgrade which is a great result for all.