It’s just before 10am, and Hinetūparimaunga is about to break through.
The 235-metre long tunnel, part of the new Te Ara o Te Ata – Mt Messenger Bypass broke through to the northern side on Tuesday to a karakia and applause. Hinetūparimaunga, a giant excavating machine which has been a key component in the job, completed the breakthrough late in the morning. It’s planned that by the end of next year the new road between Taranaki and the north – replacing the winding climb over Mt Messenger – will be open.
The crew has worked around the clock since February to complete this stage of the Mt Messenger bypass , excavating 17,000 cubic metres of rock.
The upgrading of the major link road between Waikato and Taranaki reached another milestone.
Following more than eight months of work under the ground at Te Ara o Te Ata, the Mt Messenger bypass project, the team ‘broke through’ to the northern end of the tunnel on Tuesday.
The bypass is scheduled to open at the end of 2026, about the same time work on the Waikato Expressway extension to Piarere – reducing travel time to and from Tauranga – is set to start.
It will be a new two-lane 6km route between Uruti and Ahititi which avoids the existing steep, narrow and winding route over Mt Messenger on State Highway 3 in North Taranaki.
Project manager Caleb Perry, pictured at Mt Messenger on Tuesday.
Waka Kotahi says it will provide much-needed interregional economic, resilience, safety and environmental benefits, including for local communities, businesses, freight and all SH3 road users.
Motorists catch a glimpse of the size of the bypass project as they climb Mt Messenger and see the 280-tonne crawler crane, above the tunnel, which is being used to lift component for the two bridges on the new road
An estimated $21m worth of freight uses the road every day – and one in five vehicles which uses is heavy commercial.
Crews will now go back to the start of the tunnel, and, together with the 110 tonne roadheader, named Hinetūparimaunga, will excavate down three metres to the future road level.
“The whole team has been excited about breaking through. It’s no mean engineering feat and our crews should rightly feel proud of their mahi,” Project Manager Caleb Perry said.
The tunnel will be large enough to accommodate loads up to and including house removals.
“You only have to look up at the existing stretch of State Highway 3 to realise why this bypass is so important – the bypass will be a safer, more secure and resilient route, with less steep inclines and it will be a lot straighter, eliminating those tight bends that grind road users to a halt,” Perry said.
Light at the end of the 235-metre tunnel as Hinetūparimaunga is seen at the northern end for the first time.
Inside out – the view the tunnel team had once the breakthrough came.
It’s just before 10am, and Hinetūparimaunga is about to break through.
