McDonough Contracting

CATEGORY 5: Excellence in the maintenance & management of assets including routine maintenance

PROJECT: Coastal Southland State Highway Maintenance. CONTRACTOR: McDonough Contracting

High quality service

McDonough Contracting, following a ‘weighted’ tender process, was awarded the Southland State Highway Coastal contract by NZTA for the maintenance of signage, edge marker posts and roadside furniture along the 350 kilometre+ Southland Highway network, and the Invercargill City Council contract was awarded for the maintenance of both urban (303 kilometres) and rural road signage (180 kilometres).

Having been involved with both contracts and the respective clients on previous occasions, McDonough Contracting was known for providing a high quality service at a reasonable price.

The two projects were completed in tandem with each other to minimise cost and save time.

The State Highway Coastal contract called for inspections, reporting, programming, planning and maintenance in partnership with Opus consultants. This work was carried out on a two-week cyclical basis with the exception of SH1 and SH6 which were travelled daily. In addition to the above, electronic speed indication signs, warning signs around schools, chevron signage on curves, ice/grit signs, and threshold and tourist signs were installed.

For the Council contract the area was divided into six urban and six rural zones, with each inspected every six months over the course of the contract. The inspections were recorded on RAMM with missing, damaged or faded signs reported and a RAMM management system put in place to prioritise the maintenance work and ensure it was done. Speed humps and pedestrian safety barriers were also included in this programme. Where alloy poles required replacement a recycling programme was developed, reusing short repainted sections for chain fences etc – another cost saving. New bus shelters were developed and some 60 existing ones cleaned.

Adherence to safety practices and working at times of least traffic volume was strictly observed by the teams, who were at times hampered by snow and wind, with snow often impacting on the reflective raised pavement markers.

The Southland State Highway Coastal contract was completed in April last year and the Council ‘signage’ contract in August of the same year. Both clients were extremely pleased with the outcomes. l