Small plants supply a big project … SH25A to open ahead of schedule!
Many parts of the country have been seriously affected by major weather events in the past year - none more so than the Coromandel Peninsular with the major slip that took out a large section of State Highway 25A at Taparahi, between Kōpū and Hikuai in late January, isolating townships, beach communities and affecting businesses.
In March local residents and businesses were pleased to hear a new bridge would be built to span the chasm that was once SH25A. Construction began in June on the new 124 metre, three span bridge with a very ambitious construction timeframe of just nine months.
Being very aware of the importance of the project for the area, Waka Kotahi put the reinstatement of this vital link in the hands of McConnell Dowell and Fulton Hogan joint venture – with Firth called on for concrete supply because of the location of our plants and the ability to supply from both sides of the slip. 
“Both our Thames and Whangamata plants have been very busy supplying concrete to the joint venture since June. Initially for the piling,” explains Gavin Alden, Head of Certified (Central) for Firth.
“We were selected because of our ability to deliver and meet the joint venture’s programme with our plants located on either side of the slip at Whangamata and Thames,” adds Gavin. “Both are localised plants that fit the domestic market in those areas with each only containing three staff and two trucks. To supply a project with a tight schedule and a fixed deadline meant we have had all hands on deck in the region to support our plants and ensure the engineering, resourcing and specialised mixes were available for our customer when required.”
Gavin says that even though the two Firth plants were the closest to the SH25A project site, it still required the assistance of the Firth Technical team to ensure the mixes would be fine when they arrived on site as there was still a good distance from the concrete plants to the project. “There have been some relatively complex mixes, including self-compacting concrete which these plants aren’t used to making. However the team really pulled together to ensure success.”
“From the start we’ve been acutely aware that to accelerate delivery we’d need the support of our suppliers too,” says Aimee Pene, Project Engineer for McConnell Dowell. “In very quick succession we pivoted through a number of structural mixes from both plants, allowing us to progress multiple work fronts at once. Thank you Firth for being such an integral part of our team.”
The huge effort from all the teams involved in constructing the new bridge in record time has paid off with Waka Kotahi announcing it will be open three months ahead of schedule ... much to the delight of local residents and businesses.