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The recently-opened Ara Tūhono-Pūhoi to Warkworth motorway has been awarded a silver Greenroads sustainability rating – the highest ever score given out by Greenroads globally.
The US-based Greenroads Project Rating Program is an independent third-party review of the environmental, social and economic performance of transportation infrastructure projects and challenges project teams to go beyond business as usual.
The new motorway, which was developed as a Public Private Partnership (PPP) between Waka Kotahi and NX2.
It is one of the largest and most complex roading projects undertaken in NZ in the past decade.
Waka Kotahi national manager programmes and standards Vanessa Browne says the outstanding rating is a testament to the dedication of the extensive team working on the project including mana whenua and Waka Kotahi delivery partners.
Climate resilience was factored into many aspects of the first stage of the project, including a sophisticated storm water and drainage system with culverts that are designed to withstand a 1-in-100-year flooding event.
The storm water system was also integrated with existing natural systems such as ponds and wetlands to follow best practice, and the culverts were specifically designed to maintain natural fish migration routes.
Browne says there were also numerous environmental protections including sediment and erosion controls during earthwork operations to protect the Mahurangi and Pūhoi Rivers, including 45km of protective silt fencing and 150 sediment retention ponds.
