SH2 Tauranga Eastern Link

The SH2 Tauranga Eastern Link (TEL) project is part of the Waka Kotahi/ NZTA’s Roads of National Significance (RoNS). The TEL project is a four-lane 23km long roading project between Tauranga in the west and Paengaroa in the east bypassing Te Puke.

Gaia Engineers was the Lead Geotechnical Engineer of the project. The project comprises four interchanges, 12 bridge structures and 6km upgraded and 17km newly constructed highway and more than 3 million cubic metres of earthworks.

Main geological features include Aeolian dune sands, up to 6m thick very soft highly compressive peats, deep paleo channels infilled with soft Holocene estuarine silts, groundwater levels close to the ground surface and airfall Tephra deposits.

Ground improvements comprised extensive wick drains, stone columns, surcharge fill and high-tensile geotextiles. The foundation of the bridges comprised 212 driven steel piles, up to 55m deep, with a total pile length of approximately 9km. 40,000m3 expanded polystyrene (EPS) embankment at Domain Road Interchange on very soft ground conditions.

Key challenges were the management of up to 5m ground settlements and highly liquefiable ground.

Construction commenced in late 2011 and official opening was in July 2015. Gaia Engineers provided continuous geotechnical services over 9 years from the tender in 2010, during the detailed design from 2010 to 2011, during the construction phase from 2011 to 2015 and during the defects notification period until 2020.