SH2 Waihī to Ōmokoroa Safety Improvements is the winning project in the Road Safety category of the 2023 Asset Management Excellence Awards.
A major makeover of an extremely dangerous stretch of SH2 in the Western Bay of Plenty has won the IPWEA Safety Award 2023. The 40km corridor from Waihī to Ōmokoroa, rated one of the deadliest in the country, has been transformed via an extraordinary partnership between the client, designer, constructor, local authorities, iwi and road users.
The 40km corridor of SH2 between Waihī and Ōmokoroa in the Western Bay of Plenty was one of the deadliest in New Zealand with 25 fatalities and 66 serious injury accidents between 2009 and 2018. HEB Construction has worked closely with Waka Kotahi, Beca, local authorities and all stakeholders and transformed this unsafe, yet economically critical, transport route into one of the safest in the country. Collaboration, innovation and agility has also enabled savings to be re-invested into additional corridor safety improvements and asset resilience. Early iwi and stakeholder engagement turned initial resistance to the disruption into buy-in at all levels – locally and regionally. The project is currently one year ahead of programme and under budget. Physical works have included complex earthworks, stormwater drainage, utility relocations and protection, retaining structures, pavement and surfacing and line marking, all completed with zero LTIs or environmental incidents within the live corridor.
