Largest installation of guardrail in the South Island
A five-mile stretch of State Highway 1, just north of Christchurch, has recently seen the largest single contract awarded for guardrail installation in the South Island as part of NZTA's safety retrofit programme.
This section of motorway includes two double-lane each way bridges at Waimakariri and Kaiapoi with different guardrail requirements due to the geometry of the sites.
“The existing barriers on these bridges were sub-standard due to their very low height,” said Dan McNally, Civil Engineer for Opus Consultants. “Due to the high traffic volume on the bridges we specified the use of Thriebeam and Nu-Guard 31™, both Test Level 4 guardrail systems.”
"The lead-up to the Kaiapoi bridge had a very low, old W beam barrier," said Ian Rowland, South Island Sales Manager for CSP. "If there had been an accident on this section of road it would have been very serious. The barrier badly needed replacing."
The barrier was replaced with Nu-Guard 31™ steel guardrail due to its cost effectiveness and the proximity of the barrier to the edge of the bank. With limited installation space, Nu-Guard 31™ was the best option while Thriebeam TL4 barrier was used on the actual bridge. Both systems offer the best protection to motorists in a 100km speed zone.
The Waimakariri Bridge is 424m long and required more than 1.7kms of Thriebeam TL4 barrier in the upgrade.
| “This was a very large guardrail installation,” said Jason Lemmon, Contracts Manager, Fulton Hogan Ltd, Christchurch. “CSP were great to deal with, all product deliveries were on schedule, which helped Fulton Hogan meet our tight programme deadlines.” |