CCNZ / HIREPOOL CONSTRUCTION EXCELLENCE AWARDS 2015
A bluster of a build in Ohariu Valley
Scenically located about a 30-minute drive northwest of Wellington’s CBD, the majestic views from the Mill Creek Wind Farm Project are almost as spectacular as the engineering accomplishments that underpin the project.
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CATEGORY
PROJECT: Mill Creek Wind Farm, Wellington CONTRACTOR: Higgins Contractors
40 Civil Contractors NZ in association with Contractor magazine
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he Mill Creek Wind Farm Project was one that had been in development over many years, with Meridian’s final resource consent only being granted in August 2011. In June the following year Meridian Energy awarded Higgins Contractors the contract for the civil works component. Despite the many restrictive consent conditions, the challenging ground conditions of the local Ohariu Valley, and a tight programme, Higgins handed over every portion of the project on time (all civil works construction were completed in October 2014). The civil works for the contract were generally grouped into two distinct phases – external works, which included formation of an access road through the Spicer’s forest and widening of Ohariu Valley Road, and core site civil works, which involved the construction of the main 18 kilometre access road, a 16 metre-long single span bridge, a multi-plate arch structure, construction of 26 turbine foundations and laying electricity supply fibre optic communication cables. This would be Higgins’ fourth involvement in wind farm developments and, at the time of construction in 2013/14, it was the largest civil construction project in the Greater Wellington region.
