How is it that New Zealand's recent large and destructive earthquake did so little damage to the bridges in the quake zone? Mary Searle investigates. The magnitude 7.1 earthquake that hit the Canterbury region in New Zealand at 4.35am on Saturday, 4 September was similar in size to the quake that shook Haiti in January. However, the damage in Canterbury was minimal in comparison. A key contributor to this was New Zealand's preparedness for such an event. Positioned on a major fault line, New Zealand has ear
Work on a major new highway connection is now underway in New Zealand. The New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) says that preparatory work for a 4.5km stretch of highway is underway. Actual construction expected to commence in late December 2012. Completion of the project is due by 2016, with the highway costing some US$1.32 billion. The project will see the construction of a six lane link connecting State Highways 16 and 20 in Auckland.
Plans are in hand in New Zealand for a massive programme of infrastructure works around the country’s largest city, Auckland. The New Zealand Government intends to invest some US$7.8 billion (NZ$10 billion), which will be spent on upgrading existing highway links and building the second Auckland Harbour Bridge. The existing Auckland Harbour Bridge sees heavy traffic flows at peak periods in particular and the new structure is necessary to reduce congestion and cut journey times. The programme of infrastruct
Higgins Contractors of New Zealand has made rapid use of its new Borum BMT 350 road marking machine, the first of its type in the country. The machine was bought recently to undertake contract work for the New Zealand Transport Authority and local councils, following a meeting Higgins had with Borum representatives at the Intertraffic exhibition in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, a year ago.
