At our branch event in Invercargill on Friday 20th September we learnt about the Homer Tunnel’s avalanche shelter, the challenges in funding our community assets, why things need to be done differently in Invercargill and the lessons learnt from the bridge repairs after Cyclone Gabrielle followed by the challenges of planning for climate change on a reclaimed estuary.
The open floor discussion focused on the challenges attendees face, and how Āpōpō could assist with topics at our next branch event.
Thanks goes out to Bonisch for sponsoring the impressive spread for morning tea and lunch.
Quinton Penniall, current Otago/Southland Branch Chair introduced Mark Baker of Morphum Environmental as the new branch chair, who will be officially taking this role at the Āpōpō AGM on 3rd October. A big thanks goes out to Quinton for his time as the Otago/Southland Branch chair for his time and dedication in organising branch events as well as the responsibilities of being an Āpōpō board member.
The Āpōpō update was opened with a Pepeha by Emily the Member Engagement Manager, she provided an update on the Āpōpō Guide, Professional Accreditation and upcoming events. It being te wiki o te reo Maori, Emily shared her connection with this place, Invercargill. Emily’s connection to Invercargill, other than attending the Land Development Engineers Forum last year, was through growing up in Dunedin and spending time in Invercargill playing Water Polo and swimming back in the 1990’s.
Rob Bond of WSP then talked through the Homer Tunnel Avalanche Shelter project which was completed in June 2024. The Homer tunnel’s avalanche shelter is the only such structure in New Zealand.
The project presented substantial challenges including:
- A short 3 Month construction window due to adverse weather; heavy rain and the snow/avalanche season restricting the construction window
- Needing to keep the road open at all times due to it being the only road access to Milford Sounds: A tourist mecca
- The nature of the avalanches in this location means they are explosive: the snow/ice falls from the cliffs above and explodes as it hits the valley floor creating a powerful sideways blast (wind strong enough to move massive D6 Bulldozers 20m+)
- Contaminated site: from old huts and historic worksites e.g. lead nails and paint, rubbish dumped in the area
- On a fault line so the seismic expectation was high
The structure was precast off -site in Timaru to save time in construction. The structure was tested for the first time last week with a scheduled avalanche release which it stood strong through. The life expectancy of this structure is 100 years.
The next presentation was by Erin Moogan of Invercargill City Council. Erin updated us on several of the local projects including the project 12 25 www.project1225.co.nz/ and the Invercargill City Council Te Hinaki Building Condition Assessment Report. The condition of this building and the subsequent recommendations are probably similar to what many local councils are facing around New Zealand.
Erin shared some of the considerations in various team structures as their organisation has been through some changes in the time she has worked there. Various councils in the room had different structures – a dedicated project management team or adding project management resources to technical teams.
Vaughn Crowther of Utility provided some insight and perspective on the infrastructure asset management profession and challenges facing NZ today; our skills challenge, our government policy challenge, or affordability challenge.
“When our profession is strong, our communities are strong”
He discussed how prices are still going up faster than our economic capacity to pay for it, so what can we do about it? He suggested strengthening our influence and our expertise through sector consolidation and the sector controlling the narrative rather those outside of the sector. Without consumer protection costs are simply passed onto the public.
Rob Bond of WSP shared their experience of the bridge recovery from Cyclone Gabrielle in the Hawkes Bay.
One of the major causes of damage to bridges was debris. Slash from forestry contributed to the debris which caused damage, but the deforestation of the banks meant that a huge volume of vegetation from this source was also thrust down the flood water at the structures downstream.
Some of the bridges were access for a small population, one example was that there were five bridges on one road which was access for just five properties. The repair sites needed to be prioritized or alternative access investigated.
They learnt that for many bridges scouring was a major issue. To prevent this in future, sheet pile was installed around many of the bridge abutments as a standardised solution.
The benefit of Bailey bridges as permanent as well as temporary solutions were demonstrated. Bespoke designs are far more time consuming and costly to build. Again, standardising repair designs alongside using materials that were easily available reduced cost and timeframe for reinstatement.
One of the damaged bridges after Cyclone Gabrielle.
We went from viewing the damage of Cyclone Gabrialle in 2023, to viewing photos of flood damage in Invercargill in the 1980’s. It was a reminder that we need to plan for these weather events as they are only going to get more severe and more frequent. Āpōpō has a digital badge on Climate Adaptation in Asset Management, CC101 if you want to learn more about adapting to these changes.
The original pump station is pictured here: Back in the flood of 1984, and in 2023, above the water line, with the new pump station construction next door.
The final presentation for the day was by Gavin Gilder of Environment Southland. He outlined the past decisions that were made; ‘reclaiming’ the estuary, building on it, and then the more recent attempts to protect what has been built on this reclaimed land. With climate change and water levels raising the risk of a major flood event remains a reality.
The Steed Street stop bank and upgraded pump have helped the resilience of this area and the critical connection the airport provides. Further mitigation structures are planned to lessen the impact of future flooding events. However, the question does need to be answered: at what point do we stop doubling down on decisions of the past and potentially retreat from areas.
The photos of the flooding in the 80’s demonstrate the severity of flooding in this populated area.
We wrapped up the day with an open floor discussion of the biggest challenges attendees are facing, and the topics which would be of most benefit at future branch events. The suggestions were:
- Academic/research/study in asset management
- Levels of service – Community consultation
- Building capacity in asset management
- Leverage Southland/Gisborne experience with Bailey bridges
- Procurement standards
- Climate change and adaptation e.g. managing community expectations
- Financial – affordability, being savvy with money, finding efficiencies, share use cases?
- Diverse asset classes
- Buildings e.g. community halls
- Footpaths
Branch event format suggestions:
- This timing is good (10am-3pm)
- Invite or appeal to a more diverse audience (elected members and executives, other industries)
- Get back to the fundamentals of asset management
- Emerging leaders should present
- DEFINE ASSET MANAGEMENT
- Presentations should be a mix of sectors (not just roading and waters)
Thanks again to Bonisch for sponsoring this event allowing it to be free for attendees.
This branch event was brought to Invercargill by your Otago/Southland Branch Chair, Quinton Penniall.
