MCR – Heathcote Expressway

Overview

The Major Cycle Route (MCR) Heathcote Expressway’s purpose was to offer reasonably direct routes well connected to a city-wide cycle network and to provide a safe route to all cyclists from Heathcote to the Central City.

Isaac Construction was appointed to build the Heathcote Expressway Major Cycle Route Section 1A from Fitzgerald Avenue along Ferry Road and Wilson Road to Charles Street. Cumnor Terrace was included as a variation to the contract.

This complex project started off on Fitzgerald and Ferry Roads with separated cycle lanes and a much-improved intersection. This project also involved (but where not limited to) extensive modification of existing drainage including new sumps, v-channels and kerbs with new asphalt footpaths and cycleways. The road shoulder had to be re-constructed to accommodate the new kerb layout and installation of an on road separated cycleway from Wilson Road to Charles Street.

Due to the tight program and multiple work sites on the Ferry Wilson Road section, it was decided to set up a separate Project Management Team and Work Crews for the Cumnor Terrace section of the works delivering both sections of work simultaneously without disruption to the main works.

Isaac Construction identified that this section of the cycleway on Cumnor Terrace was a low volume road with no residential properties and with CTOC’s approval we were able to close the road to all other traffic and maintain both safety and progress. Access was maintained for pedestrians and cyclists while motorists were diverted with a detour of approximately two minutes, causing very little inconvenience to the public.

Isaac Construction and Velos (Opus/Aecom) worked together and corroborated to fine tune the design and construction methodology. Part of the methodology for this section of works was to establish the Erosion & Sediment Control Measures before any site works were undertaken. The level of the cycleway was raised, and this resulted in having to dig out less of the existing carriageway and adjacent berm. This project contained contaminate ground containing both coal tar in the road and asbestos in the berm. Any areas of coal tar were excavated and loaded directly into skips which were then covered and carted off to Kate Valley.

Asbestos had been identified in the Client’s preliminary site investigation, and a specialist asbestos removal subcontractor was engaged to remove it safely and effectively from the site. We engaged an environmental consultant to prepare a report and comment on the conditions of the consent, which required a silt curtain to be installed in the Heathcote River along the entire length of the job.

A Tree Management Plan was prepared for the project identifying any significant trees in the area. A Christchurch City Council approved Arborist was on site at all times to deal with any issues encountered when excavating or undertaking construction works adjacent to trees that were to be retained.

The project was completed on 2 August, more than four weeks ahead of schedule. At the peak of the project 14 separate crews were working together on site to pour 57 new vehicle crossings. Over 41,000 construction hours were worked on site, including on Saturdays. Isaac Construction worked extremely hard to minimise disruption to local businesses and every effort was made to keep everyone informed including sending weekly newsletter updates to over 120 stakeholders.

Challenges

Ferry Road is a major arterial route for Christchurch and a very busy commercial area with a lot of businesses including a large number of car sale yards. These business owners and stakeholders were very concerned that this project would have an adverse effect on their business operations. This was also recognized by the Council and they made it clear from the onset that the works were to be undertaken with as little disruption as possible and within a 6-month time frame.

As described below a One-Way Temporary Traffic Management System was implemented which had a dual role in that it created a decent sized work area for construction and retained parking on the opposite side of the road to the construction site which was key to the business owners in the area. This proved to be very significant to the success of the project.

There was a significant amount of underground services identified on the drawings and due to the carriageway being narrowed to accommodate the shared cycleway/footpath, extensive drainage works were required along both sides of Ferry Road. It was identified early on by Isaacs Construction that there were going to be a lot of clashes with the new stormwater design/traffic pole foundations and the existing services. This meant that Isaac Construction needed to be ahead of the game regarding this. Therefore, we potholed in advance and surveyed the existing services (and there were many) in order to come up with the correct solution. A collaborative approach between the Foreman, Construction Supervisor, CCC Drainage Inspectors, Surveyor, Engineers and Designers proved the most effective way of coming up with the best solution to all these problems. Many of the sumps had to be modified and cast in situ around existing services that could not be moved. This was critical to the project staying on schedule as hold ups on these issues could have cost the project a lot of time.

In order to keep local business owners happy, we were always required to keep access to all driveways. This proved difficult with reinforced commercial crossings, v-channels, kerb and channel and asphalting causing many interruptions. These were largely overcome by pouring these early in the morning before the business opened and then placing thick steel plates for larger vehicles to cross when required.

Awards

CCNZ Canterbury / Westland Awards 2019: Liebherr NZ – Company Image Award
Awarded to Isaac Construction for excellence in how the company and our people, presents to, and works alongside with, our clients, subcontractors, the community, residents, businesses, and other affected stakeholders on projects. Going above and beyond to deliver on their needs while delivering great outcomes for all.