Tunnelling begins at site of Mt Messenger Bypass

Source: New Zealand Transport Agency

Tunnelling has begun this week at the Te Ara o Te Ata – Mt Messenger Bypass project in North Taranaki.

Following an early morning blessing from mana whenua and iwi partner Ngāti Tama, the first cut was made by a 110-tonne road header machine that will excavate the project’s 235-metre tunnel.

Road headers have boom-mounted telescopic cutting heads, making them ideal for diverse geological conditions.  A shovel plate at the front of the road header collects the excavated rock and soil, which is then conveyed via a belt to dump trucks at the back of the machine.  

The 235-metre tunnel will be an important part of the Bypass project, contributing to a much more resilient stretch of State Highway 3.

NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi Project Manager Caleb Perry says having the road header onsite is really exciting for the project.

“We’ll start to see some progress with the road header excavating up to 3 metres every day.

“The tunnel will be cut in two stages, with the upper portion (top heading) first, followed by the bottom section (bench). At regular intervals, excavation will be paused and ‘shotcrete’ – a sprayed-on concrete – will be applied to the crown and walls to line and support the structure.

“The design and construction of the tunnel are similar to the Northern Gateway Tunnel in Auckland and the tunnel will be large enough to accommodate loads up to and including house removals – this isn’t something that can currently be accommodated on the steep, narrow winding stretch of SH3.”

At this stage, the excavation is expected to be completed later this year.

“The Mt Messenger Bypass will make this stretch of SH3 much more resilient, and safer for all motorists, providing a secure connection through North Taranaki, especially for freight.

“The finished tunnel will incorporate cultural elements acknowledging Ngāti Tama tūpuna, the traditional guardians of the northern gateway to Taranaki.”

Backgound

The Mt Messenger project has named this road header ‘Hinetūparimaunga’ – the atua of mountains and cliffs.

A design on the side of the roadheader depicts Hinetūparimaunga with outstretched limbs supporting the roof, walls and floor of the underground space. A yellow background represents the light that will flood into the tunnel upon its completion.

Images: The roadheader and initial progress

Auckland overnight motorway closures 7–17 February 2025

Source: New Zealand Transport Agency

NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi advises of the following closures for motorway improvements. Work delayed by bad weather will be completed at the next available date, prior to Friday, 14 February 2025.

Please note this traffic bulletin is updated every Friday.

Daily updated closure information(external link)

Unless otherwise stated, closures start at 9pm and finish at 5am. Traffic management may be in place before the advertised closure times for the mainline.

NORTHERN MOTORWAY (SH1)

  • Onewa Road northbound off-ramp, 9-13 February
  • Stafford Road northbound off-ramp, 9-13 February
  • Curran Street northbound on-ramp, 9-13 February

CENTRAL MOTORWAY JUNCTION (CMJ)

  • SH1 southbound to SH16 eastbound (Port) link, 12 February (approx. 10:00pm to 5:00am)
  • SH1 southbound to SH16 westbound link, 13 February (approx. 10:00pm to 5:00am)
  • Northbound lanes between Symonds Street off-ramp and Fanshawe Street on-ramp, 10-11 February (approx. 10:00pm to 5:00am)
    • Wellington Street northbound on-ramp, 10-11 February
    • SH1 northbound to SH16 westbound link, 10-11 February (approx. 10:00pm to 5:00am)
  • Westbound lanes between Stanely Street off-ramp and Newtown Road on-ramp, 10-11 February (approx. 10:00pm to 5:00am)
    • SH16 (Port) westbound to SH1 northbound link, 10-11 February (approx. 10:00pm to 5:00am)
    • SH16 (Port) westbound to SH1 southbound link, 10-11 February (approx. 10:00pm to 5:00am)
    • Wellesley Street East (SH1) westbound on-ramp, 10-11 February
  • SH16 eastbound to SH1 northbound link, 10-11 February (approx. 10:00pm to 5:00am)
  • Westbound lanes between Stanley Street off-ramp and Great North Road on-ramp, 13 February (approx. 10:00pm to 5:00am)
    • SH16 (Port) westbound to SH1 northbound link, 13 February (approx. 10:00pm to 5:00am)
    • SH16 (Port) westbound to SH1 southbound link, 13 February (approx. 10:00pm to 5:00am)
    • Wellesley Street East (SH1) westbound on-ramp, 13 February
    • Hobson Street westbound on-ramp, 13 February
    • Newton Road westbound on-ramp, 13 February
    • St Lukes Road westbound on-ramp, 13 February
    • SH16 westbound to SH20 southbound link, 13 February (approx. 10:00pm to 5:00am)
  • SH1 northbound to SH16 westbound link, 13 February (approx. 10:00pm to 5:00am)
  • Eastbound lanes between Wellesley Street East (SH1) off-ramp and Alten Road on-ramp, 12 February (approx. 10:00pm to 5:00am)
  • Eastbound lanes between Wellesley Street East (SH16) off-ramp and Alten Road on-ramp, 12 February (approx. 10:00pm to 5:00am)
  • Grafton Road eastbound on-ramp, 12 February
  • Westbound lanes between Stanley Street off-ramp and Grafton Road on-ramp, 11-13 February
  • Westbound lanes between Quay Street/Tamaki Drive and Parnell Rise, approx. 9:00pm 7 February to 5:00am 10 February (24/7)
  • Westbound lanes between Quay Street/Tamaki Drive and Parnell Rise, approx. 9:00pm 14 February to 5:00am 17 February (24/7)

SOUTHERN MOTORWAY (SH1)

  • Southbound lanes between Papakura off-ramp and Drury/SH22 on-ramp, 9 February
    • Papakura (Loop) southbound on-ramp, 9 February
    • Papakura (Diamond) southbound on-ramp, 9 February
  • Southbound lanes between Papakura off-ramp and Ramarama on-ramp, 10-13 February
    • Papakura (Loop) southbound on-ramp, 10-13 February
    • Papakura (Diamond) southbound on-ramp, 10-13 February
    • Drury/SH22 southbound on-ramp, 10-13 February
  • Northbound lanes between Drury/SH22 off-ramp and Papakura on-ramp, 9-13 February
    • Drury/SH22 northbound on-ramp, 9-13 February
  • Bombay southbound off-ramp, 9-13 February
  • Bombay northbound on-ramp, 9-13 February
  • Bombay northbound off-ramp, 9-13 February
  • Southbound lanes between Hampton Downs off-ramp and Hampton Downs on-ramp, 9-13 February
  • Northbound lanes between Hampton Downs off-ramp and Hampton Downs on-ramp, 9-13 February
    • Dragway Road northbound off-ramp, 9-13 February
    • Hampton Downs northbound on-ramp, 9-13 February

NORTHWESTERN MOTORWAY (SH16)

  • SH16 eastbound link to SH20 southbound (Waterview southbound tunnel closed), 10-11 February
    • Great North Road eastbound off ramp (Waterview southbound tunnel closed), 10-11 February
  • Westbound link to SH20 southbound (Waterview southbound tunnel closed), 10-11 February
  • Eastbound lanes between Great North Road off-ramp and Alten Road, 12 February (approx. 10:00pm to 5:00am)
    • Great North Road eastbound on-ramp, 12 February
    • St Lukes Road eastbound on-ramp, 12 February
    • SH16 eastbound to SH1 northbound link, 12 February (approx. 10:00pm to 5:00am)
    • SH16 eastbound to SH16 (Port) link, 12 February (approx. 10:00pm to 5:00am)
    • SH16 eastbound to SH1 southbound link, 12 February (approx. 10:00pm to 5:00am)

UPPER HARBOUR MOTORWAY (SH18)

  • None planned

SOUTHWESTERN MOTORWAY (SH20)

  • Southbound lanes between Maioro Street off-ramp and Hillsborough Road on-ramp, 10-11 February (approx. 10:00pm to 5:00am)
    • Maioro Street southbound on-ramp, 10-11 February
    • Dominion Road southbound on-ramp, 10-11 February
  • Northbound lanes between Maioro Street off-ramp and Great North Road on-ramp (Waterview northbound tunnel closed), 12-13 February
    • SH20 Northbound to SH16 Eastbound Link, 12-13 February
    • SH20 Northbound to SH16 Westbound Link, 12-13 February
    • Maioro Street northbound on-ramp, 12-13 February
  • Southbound lanes between Massey Road off-ramp and Puhinui Road on-ramp, 9 February (approx. 10:00pm to 5:00am)
    • Massey Road southbound on-ramp, 9 February

GEORGE BOLT MEMORIAL DRIVE (SH20A)

  • None planned

PUHINUI ROAD (SH20B)

  • None planned

STATE HIGHWAY 22 (SH22)

  • None planned

STATE HIGHWAY 2 (SH2)

  • None planned

Please follow the signposted detours. NZ Transport Agency thanks you for your co-operation during these essential improvements and maintenance.

Current overnight closure information(external link)  

Auckland roads and public transport(external link)

Maintenance work ahead on SH1 through Rangitikei

Source: New Zealand Transport Agency

Road users travelling through the Rangitikei district are advised to expect some minor delays on State Highway 1 in the coming weeks due to planned maintenance and resilience works.

The Manawatū-Whanganui 2024/25 renewals season is nearing completion, with less than 2 months left.

Some crucial work on SH1 is still to be completed, with crews scheduled to be at different sites over the coming weeks.

The timing and location of these scheduled works has been specifically chosen to minimise disruption for travellers.

  • Utiku: From Monday 10 February, tree felling works will be taking place off the state highway near Utiku. Work to remove the trees will take place over 4 days, with crews working from 7am til 7pm. Temporary traffic management will be in place, with an occasional stop/stop (stopping traffic flow completely) while trees are removed alongside the highway. Motorists can expect delays of up to 10 minutes.
  • Taihape: Preseal repair works are taking place between Manu Road and Rauma Road, just south of Taihape, from Monday 10 February to Friday 14 February. Crews will be working from 8am til 5pm. Stop/go temporary traffic management and a reduced speed limit of 30km/h will be in place, with delays of up to 15 minutes expected. Following these works, crews will return to complete resealing works before the end of this renewals season. This will be communicated closer to the time. 

Once these works are complete, further road maintenance is planned later in the month for SH1 near Mangaweka and Bulls. 

  • North of Bulls: From Monday 17 February – Friday 28 February, planned road maintenance work will take place on SH1 near the intersection with Wellington Road. Crews will be working from 6am til 6pm each day. Stop/go temporary traffic management and a reduced speed limit will be in place, with delays of 5 minutes expected.
  • Bulls: From Wednesday 19 February, crews plan to complete a 3-week road rebuild on the passing lane north of Watson St, Bulls. This road renewal work will take place each day, with crews working from 6am til 6pm each day. The first week of work involves contraflow  (allowing both directions of travel) and the remaining 2 weeks of work involves stop/go temporary traffic management, with delays of 5 minutes expected.
  • Mangaweka: Road rebuild works are planned for the passing lane near Mangaweka, from Thursday 20 February to Thursday 20 March.  These renewal works will be completed under contraflow so minimal disruption is expected for road users.

NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi acknowledges State Highway 1 has seen a lot of construction activity over the past few months during the renewals season and we really appreciate people’s patience during this work to increase the resilience of the network.

The upcoming works are weather dependent and may be postponed or rescheduled at short notice. Changes in programming will be communicated on our online channels such as NZTA’s Journey Planner.

Journey Planner(external link)

Firearms and ammunition seized following a Porirua traffic stop

Source: New Zealand Police (National News)

Attributable to Detective Sergeant Vincent Smylie:

A man is before the courts following a vehicle stop which led to the discovery of two firearms and shotgun ammunition.

Around 4pm on Tuesday 4 February, Police conducted a vehicle stop in Cannons Creek, after seeing a person of interest in the passenger seat of a vehicle.

The 34-year-old man was arrested in relation to a warrant to arrest.

The day after, Wednesday 5 February, Police conducted a search warrant at his house nearby, leading to the discovery of two firearms, shotgun ammunition, and gang insignia that had allegedly been displayed in an earlier incident in January.

He is due to reappear in Porirua District Court on Friday 21 February, facing charges of prohibited display of gang insignia in a public place, burglary, male assaults female, intentional damage, speaks threateningly, and unlawful possession of ammunition. Further charges relating to the two firearms are being considered.

Police are glad to have been able to pull two more unlawfully possessed firearms off the street, as they have the ability to cause serious harm in our community.

“We will continue to target offenders who show little regard for the community, including violent offenders, and those who unlawfully possess firearms,” Detective Sergeant Smylie said.

ENDS

Issued by Police Media Centre

Extradition file to be prepared in Wellington assault case

Source: New Zealand Police (National News)

Police investigating alleged criminal behaviour by visiting Vietnamese officials are preparing an extradition file.

Police received two complaints of assault following an incident at a Wellington restaurant in March last year.

Detectives investigating the matter identified the suspects as members of a Vietnamese delegation, who had already left the country.

While no extradition treaty exists between New Zealand and Vietnam, Police have continued to explore all available options.

Police Commissioner Richard Chambers says extradition needed to be explored, and preparing an extradition file is the next step in progressing this matter.

“We have had positive engagement with Vietnamese officials to date, and I am confident that will continue.

“While this process is ongoing and complex, we hope our ongoing efforts provide some assurance to the complainants that we are taking this matter seriously,” Commissioner Chambers says.

Travel alerts are in place at the border to ensure Police are notified, and given the opportunity to take affirmative action, if the individuals of interest in this case return to New Zealand.

ENDS

Issued by Police Media Centre

SH30/Wharenui Road intersection upgrade starting

Source: New Zealand Transport Agency

NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA) advises work begins Monday (10 February) to upgrade and install traffic lights at the intersection of State Highway 30 (SH30) Te Ngae Road and Wharenui Road.

NZTA advises Rotorua drivers that, as part of this work, a short section of Wharenui Road, between SH30 Te Ngae Road and Reeve Road/Glenfield Road, will be closed to through-traffic.

This closure will be in place from Monday 10 February, not Monday 3 February as earlier stated, until the project is completed in May this year.

Access for residents, pedestrians and cyclists will be maintained. A detour will be in place for other traffic.

Temporary footpaths and pedestrian access will be available and clearly signposted.

Residents, service providers, and visitors will be able to take vehicles into the closed section of Wharenui Road from the Reeve/Glenfield intersection.

All other traffic will need to use Brent Road or Coulter Road to access eastern Wharenui Road, Reeve Road and Glenfield Road, and any connected roads.

While this work is underway a temporary speed limit of 30km/h will be in place on SH30 Te Ngae Road through the work zone.

More information about additional traffic management will be shared as construction progresses.

View larger map [PDF, 104 KB]

SH25 closed following crash, Kereta, Thames

Source: New Zealand Police (District News)

State Highway 25, the Thames Coast Road is closed near Kereta while emergency services attend a crash reported at 12.45pm.

Initial indications are that there have been serious injuries in the crash involving a vehicle and a motorcycle.

Motorists are advised to avoid the area and expect delays.

ENDS

Issued by Police Media Centre

New Zealand Sugar Company fined almost $150,000 for importing and selling sugar products contaminated with lead

Source: Ministry for Primary Industries

New Zealand Sugar Company, trading as Chelsea Sugar, has been fined $149,500 for manufacturing, distributing and selling sugar products contaminated with lead.

In November and December 2021, the company recalled thousands of packs of sugar products because of potential low level lead contamination.

Media release: New Zealand Food Safety to investigate sugar recalls

Two other product recalls were needed when it was later discovered New Zealand Sugar Company provided incorrect information to supermarkets, resulting in more sugar products being released to consumers.

“These recalls had a significant impact on consumer access to certain sugar products, such as brown sugar. It also affected a large number of other businesses which had to recall products made with the contaminated sugar,” says New Zealand Food Safety deputy director general Vincent Arbuckle.

In the Auckland District Court, the company was sentenced on 2 charges it pleaded guilty to in May last year, including breaching its National Programme (NP) – designed to manage any food risk to consumers – along with negligently endangering, harming, creating, or increasing risk to consumers by distributing its product.

A sentencing hearing was held in September last year and the court has released its reserved decision today.

“New Zealand Sugar Company knew what its responsibilities were to consumers – ensuring the safety and suitability of its products and managing any potential risk to consumers.

“It failed to properly detect the extent of lead contamination until after the imported sugar had been used in production.

“Offending at this scale is rare, and the Court’s sentence today sends a strong message that it will not be tolerated,” says Vincent Arbuckle.

In September 2021, the New Zealand Sugar Company imported sugar from Australia that became contaminated with lead during sea transport. From this sugar it manufactured and distributed 971 tonnes of contaminated sugar products to businesses in New Zealand.

The sugar had been freighted to New Zealand from Australia aboard the cargo ship Rin Treasure – a vessel that had been used to ship metal sulphide concentrates (lead and zinc) on its previous voyage.

Before choosing this ship, New Zealand Sugar Company was advised the vessel failed a survey report on 3 September, meaning it was not fit to load and transport bulk sugar. Prior to its departure, the vessel was cleaned, and a cleanliness report certified the vessel’s hold was in a fit state for the stowage and carriage of raw sugar.

However, the cleaning was not effective, and the cargo of sugar became contaminated with lead during the journey from Queensland. This contamination may have been potentially exacerbated by a broken pipe aboard the vessel that spilled water into the sugar during the cargo unloading process by contractors.

Samples of the sugar were collected between 15 and 24 September for testing but New Zealand Sugar Company followed its normal process of producing sugar products from the cargo for distribution and sale.

“The test result on 7 October showed high readings of lead contamination, but rather than take immediate action and stop production and distribution, they instead sought more testing which confirmed the same result.

“Some of this product was sold between October and early November. We were not informed of the lead contamination until 3 November, which is unacceptable.

“New Zealand Sugar Company’s lack of definitive action resulted in a consumer level recall of sugar products on 4 November – around 6 weeks after the contaminated product arrived in New Zealand.

“Although the short-term exposure to increased lead levels through these sugar products  would not have endangered people’s health – we cannot afford to take a chance on public health,” says Vincent Arbuckle.

If you have concerns about a food product, you can contact New Zealand Food Safety on 0800 008 333 or use our online food complaint tool

For further information and general enquiries, email info@mpi.govt.nz

For media enquiries, contact the media team on 029 894 0328.

Road blocked, Mokau Road, Mokau

Source: New Zealand Police (District News)

Police are responding to a single vehicle crash where a truck has rolled on Mokau Road (SH3), near Mohakatino Road, Mokau.

The crash was reported around 1:45pm.

The driver is reported to be in a moderate to serious condition.

The road is blocked and motorists are advised to take an alternate route. 

ENDS

Issued by Police Media Centre

Universities – Green light for remote tech to sort the wood from the trees – Flinders

Source: Flinders University

New Zealand and Flinders University experts have deployed artificial intelligence and 3D laser scanning to accurately map planted pine (radiata) forests for most of NZ’s North Island.  

The results, which distinguish planted large estates, small woodlots and newly established stands as young as three years old, showcase a new way of using remote sensing with other technology to reveal forest growth and update growth information.

This approach is just as relevant for Australia, where radiata pine is also widely grown, says Dr Grant Pearse, Senior Lecturer in Remote Sensing and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) at Flinders University.

“In New Zealand, where radiata pine plantations dominate the forestry sector, the current national forest description lacks spatially explicit information and struggles to capture data on small-scale forests,” says Dr Pearse, from the College of Science and Engineering at Flinders University in Adelaide, South Australia.

“We combined deep learning-based forest mapping using high-resolution aerial imagery with regional airborne laser scanning data to map all planted forest and estimate key attributes.”

The spatially explicit forest description provides wall-to-wall information on forest extent, age, and volume for all sizes of forest. This facilitates stratification by key variables for wood supply forecasting, harvest planning, and infrastructure investment decisions – applications equally valuable for other forestry industries.

The research, with New Zealand timber industry researchers from Rotorua, Christchurch and Auckland, was carried out on planted forests in the Gisborne region, which has publicly available aerial imagery and airborne laser scanning data.

This region is particularly significant as it was severely impacted by Cyclone Gabrielle in early 2023, which caused widespread landslides and forest debris flows.

For such vulnerable terrain, knowing exactly where forests are located in the landscape, their age and condition is key to managing the risks of harvesting operations on the region’s steep slopes.

“We propose satellite-based harvest detection and digital photogrammetry to continuously update the initial forest description. This methodology enables near real-time monitoring of planted forests at all scales and is adaptable to other regions with similar data availability,” researchers say in a new article.

Along with the economic importance of NZ’s 1.8 million hectares of radiata pine forestry for export timber and fibre, these planted forests are a key part of the country’s emission trading scheme and are expected to play a significant role in achieving the government’s target of net-zero emissions by 2050.

The forest map derived from artificial intelligence can be viewed at: www.forestinsights.nz

In South Australia, plantation estates covering about 40,000 hectares support a $3 billion industry and employ 18,000 people as well as construction, manufacturing, tourism and regional communities.

The article. ‘Developing a forest description from remote sensing: Insights from New Zealand’ (2024) byGrant D Pearse (Flinders University), Sadeepa Jayathunga, Nicolò Camarretta, Melanie E Palmer, Benjamin SC Steer, Michael S Watt (all Scion), Pete Watt and Andrew Holdaway (both Indufor Asia Pacific)  has been published in the journal Science of Remote Sensing. DOI: 10.1016/j.srs.2024.100183. (ref. https://www.forestinsights.nz/ )

Acknowledgements: This project was funded through the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) Strategic Science Investment Fund (administered by Scion, the New Zealand Forest Research Institute Ltd) and through the MBIE Programme (grant number C04X2101).