The Tauranga Eastern Link (TEL) is a 23 km road of national significance from Te Munga to Paengaroa in the Bay of Plenty, which is being created under a D&B contract. Fulton Hogan is the head contractor, design is being carried out by four design consultancies, with WSP providing design team leadership. This green-fields highway is being constructed in geotechnically challenging terrain including significant areas of sand and peat.
As one of the two lead consultancies, our responsibilities include programme and budget management for the design team, design leadership and discipline leadership (structures, traffic services, lighting and power supply, landscaping and urban design).
We have completed design activities relating to specific structural and geotechnical features, all traffic services design including ITS, all landscape and urban design, all lighting and power supply design, geometric and storm water design support. The design team has operated as a single unified group co-located in dedicated premises and our team included 50 people during the detailed design phase.
The project includes twelve bridge structures including the Kaituna River Bridge, a 182.5m long steel ladder deck bridge over the Kaituna River and Bell Road and four bridges over the ECMT rail line.
We were responsible for the design of seven of the structures including the Domain Interchange. Innovative solutions were developed to solve complex geotechnical issues and to cater for the high seismic loading.
Our landscape architects also helped in providing the design that enhanced the aesthetic and ecological values of the landscape surrounding the highway. This includes keeping the same vegetation surrounding the existing corridor, maintaining the ecological linkage between the Kaimais and the coast, and keeping safe and clear vehicle sightlines as well as protecting the views across the countryside to Pāpāmoa Hills and Mauao.
