Ngaruawahia ‘whole of life cost’ a factor when selecting Armorwire

Armorwire® Wire Rope Barrier is a legacy product

The completion of the Ngaruawahia Bypass section of the Waikato Expressway has seen the inclusion of CSP’s Armorwire Wire Rope Barrier system for both the median and side-of-road safety solution.

The 12.3 km section of the Expressway was opened to the public in December and runs from Taupiri in the north, crossing flat farmland and the Waikato River, before connecting with the Te Rapa section.

“NZTA requested the use of a TL-4 Wire Rope Safety Barrier for the side-of-road barrier as well as the median in this case due to the ‘whole of life cost’ of the barrier - even though initial installation costs are higher than a steel system, and we offered CSP Armorwire system, ”explains Will Young, Sales Engineer – Central North Island for CSP.

“Asset management is strongly considered when deciding on a barrier system,” said Andrew Burgess, Project Manager for Fletcher Construction. “CSP’s Armorwire Wire Rope was selected for side-of-road and median installation due to the speed of replacement and repair of the system should the barrier be hit. Not only is it quicker and easier to repair, but during the repair less traffic management is required which is safer for the traveling public and contractors involved.”

“We have been installing barrier for many years and are actually happy to install and repair either system – rope or steel – as we have all the specialised equipment and we have been doing it for a long time,” said Graeme Rush, Managing Director for Splice Construction - the barrier installer for the Expressway. “This was a very large installation with 12.6kms of Armorwire Wire Rope and 5.9kms of Nu-Guard® Steel Barrier installed – with X-350 Terminals and Armorwire Bridge posts as well.”

“The Armorwire Bridge Post was designed specifically to run wire rope over bridges,” adds Will. “They have also been used on the Te Rapa Bypass and on the TEL Project in Tauranga. In this case, across the Waikato River, Armorwire accommodates for any expansion, contraction or movement of the bridge.”

“We were particularly pleased with the support we received from CSP when it came to getting the Armorwire Bridge Posts approved for use on the bridge deck across the Waikato River,” adds Andrew. “This avoided the transition to another system which has meant a considerable saving.”