SH43, commonly known as the ‘Forgotten World Highway, is approximately 150km in length connecting the Taranaki and Ruapehu Regions. Urban Connection was directly appointed to prepare a single stage detailed business case as part of the Provincial Growth Fund.
The business case was required to be delivered on an accelerated programme. We were praised for our ability to quickly outline the risks associated with the programme and right size the business case. We also identified key specialist sub consultants with extensive knowledge of the area to undertake the geotechnical investigations and wider economics.
The Investment Logic Mapping identified economic growth, resilience and safety & efficiency as the problems. The business case has focussed on improving the network resilience with preventative maintenance projects, improving the level of service in terms of road safety and seal extension of the 12km of unsealed highway through the Tangarakau Gorge.
- Client:
- Scale:
- Services:
- Date:
- Website:
- Waka Kotahi NZTA
- Large
- I & R / Business Case
- 2018 / 2019
- NZTA.GOVT.NZ
With both our Technical Directors taking both leadership and technical roles on the project the project was managed with a focus on pragmatic solutions and ensuring that the business case was concise and focussed. Our team worked closely with stakeholders throughout the project including working with Waka Kotahi’s national safety leaders to agree design standards for the somewhat unique Tangarakau Gorge environment. As a Department of Conservation area and deemed a highly sensitive environmental area with large areas of pre-European trees and important flora and fauna a traditional State Highway solution could not be achieved.
The business case, which was delivered within 4 months, received high praise for quality and ‘right sizing’ by both the NZTA project manager and NZTA Independent Quality Assurance team and received a PACE ‘Exceeding Requirements’.
The business case was accepted and resulted in a $19.5m package of works including the 12km seal extension, corridor safety improvements, passing opportunities, way finding, single lane bridge upgrade and a preventative maintenance strategy.
