The Cambridge section of the Waikato Expressway will open to traffic on December 16, six months ahead of schedule.
The $250 million NZ Transport Agency project stretches from the Tamahere Interchange on State Highway 1, to just south of Cambridge.
It includes eight bridges, walking and cycling paths, some artworks and 365,000 native and exotic plants planted along its length.
The project is one of seven sections of the $2.1 billion Waikato Expressway, a Road of National Significance (RoNS).
The Transport Agency’s Hamilton highways manager Kaye Clark says the new section of the expressway will shave off around five minutes travel time between Hamilton and Cambridge, but more importantly, it will significantly improve safety.
“Over the past five years (2010-2015) six people have died, and 20 seriously injured on the stretch of SH1 that this section of the expressway will replace,” says Clark.
“We look forward to seeing a positive change.”
Clark says the 16 kilometres long Cambridge section is the third part of the Waikato Expressway to finish.
“Te Rapa, Ngaruawahia and now the Cambridge section are complete, and we are making huge strides in the remainder of the expressway, with work starting on the Hamilton section in 2016,” says Clark.
“The entire 102-kilometre length is set to be open in 2020,” she says.
The Cambridge section involved 1.25 million cubic metres of earthworks, 300,000 tonnes of concrete and saw up to 300 people working on site during peak times.
Clark says that contractors HEB Construction did a fantastic job on an often challenging site to get the project finished six months ahead of schedule.
HEB Construction project manager Gary Budden says the company is proud to have worked with the Transport Agency, designers AECOM, Opus and their suppliers to deliver the project.
“The Cambridge section of the expressway is being opened today six months ahead of schedule and with an excellent safety and environmental record,” he says.
“We want to acknowledge the huge interest and support from the Cambridge community. It has been a pleasure for our team to have been part of the local community for the last two years,” says Budden.
