HV2 BARRIER protects motorists and work space from rock falls on SH31
For many years a section of road on State Highway 31 at Puti Bluffs, 5km east of Kawhia on the West Coast of the North Island, has been affected by rockfalls that not only threatened road closures on a section of highway that was difficult to offer detours on, but also presented a potential hazard for motorists as they passed through this picturesque section of the coastal highway.
The existing precast concrete barriers installed along the highway to retain falling rocks required an upgrade in order to avoid highway closures and keep motorists safe.
“This section of highway adjacent to Puti Bluffs is well known for rockfall,” says Nathan Hancock, Operational Delivery Project Manager for Broadspectrum – the company tasked with upgrading the existing precast concrete barrier to a much larger slip formed 1400mm high concrete barrier.
Nathan says they started on the replacement of 470m of the existing concrete barrier after the first COVID-19 Alert Level 4 lockdown restrictions were lifted in April.
“It was necessary to keep the road open 24/7 during the upgrade,” explains Nathan.
“To do this we needed a traffic management barrier that would separate motorists from the working space, thereby protecting passing traffic from rockfall as well as the work crew from traffic during construction.”
Jeff Berriman, North Island Manager for CSP® says “When Nathan contacted me we calculated we could offer enough HV2 BARRIER to create a safe working space for them to work on about 100 - 120m of the upgrade at a time. We were able to get that barrier to site when it was required.”
“By using the HV2 BARRIER it meant we were easily able to move the barrier along the road using a digger to reposition the lengths as we progressed,” says Nathan. “If we had used a concrete barrier it would have done the job but it would have taken so much longer and required heaver lifting equipment to reposition the barrier. Using the HV2 BARRIER from CSP® made the job that much easier and kept the site safe.”
“Jeff Berriman from CSP® was very helpful and was able to get the barrier to the site quickly in the first place and again when taking it away when we were finished,” adds Nathan. “There are always things that go wrong on projects but working with CSP® and using their HV2 BARRIER wasn't one of them. We’re very pleased and will be calling Jeff again when the need arises.” |
For assistance email: hello@csppacific.co.nz or Ph: 0800 655200