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This highway, built by ACCIONA and its partners, stands out for providing a more reliable and safer transport link between Auckland, Waikato and Tauranga.
ACCIONA, together with Fletcher Construction, has completed the opening of the first section of the Ara Tūhono - Pūhoi to Warkworth highway with a ceremony attended by New Zealand Prime Minister Chris Hipkins and other elected representatives.
This is the first stretch within the Ara Tūhono - Pūhoi to Wellsford route, which will contribute to the economic growth of the Northland region and provide a more reliable and safer transport link between Auckland, Waikato and Tauranga.
The completion of this project is set to generate a huge positive impact on the lives of New Zealanders by enabling the Ara Tūhono - Pūhoi to Warkworth highway to connect people in a safe and efficient way.
In this Public-Private Partnership (PPP) contract, the company partnered with Fletcher Construction, New Zealand's leading construction company, to combine Fletcher's local knowledge and expertise with ACCIONA's global experience and innovative thinking.
Regarding pavement design, ACCIONA proposed an alternative in New Zealand, which had already been commonly used in other countries, based on granular layers (modified and stabilized with cement) plus a chipseal and open graded porous asphalt (OPGA). The solution is more robust, as it incorporates additional asphalt layers to prevent failure, improving quality and durability, resulting in a better experience for users.
In addition to this, it also introduced a new health and safety management system to reduce the number of accidents, significantly improving all safety KPIs.
ACCIONA´S EXPERIENCE
ACCIONA has a proven track record worldwide in executing infrastructure projects in all aspects and phases. In this project, ACCIONA's experience has been applied to lead the different phases - technical, execution, management and completion - and the integration of Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS).
To achieve this result, ACCIONA complemented the project by contributing its technical expertise and experience in similar projects worldwide, as recognized by its client Northern Express Group, to work with local teams to optimize the design to improve the safety of the highway.