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Background
Safety improvements have recently been carried out on Dunedin's Southern Motorway between Lookout Point and Green Island in response to the road’s crash history.
Additional guardrail has been installed on both sides of the carriageway to increase the side protection of the embankments and the piers of the Green Island Overbridge and a crash cushion has been installed on one of the exit ramps.
CSP Pacific has supplied all materials for the project - 700m of Flexrail™ W-Beam guardrail, a Wide TRACC™ crash cushion and two associated terminal ends.
The guardrail was supplied with a steel c-section post rather than the traditional timber post. According to Stephen of Beeby Construction, who managed the installation, the steel c-sections offered a number of advantages on this project.
“The contract called for steel posts – which hadn’t been used before in NZ for this type of scenario – as they were required to be installed hard up against the road kerb channel. The steel posts are less bulky and more user friendly for the staff to move around – they’re lighter and installation is better as they’re driven into the ground. We install around 6 kms of guardrail a year and would certainly prefer to use steel posts from now on!”
Advantages of steel posts over timber:
- Steel posts are driven directly into the ground, reducing installation time and avoiding undermining or destabilising of existing fill or kerb.
- Steel has a longer life than timber and doesn’t crack or split.
- Steel is lighter than timber, weighing 23kg per post as opposed to approx 40 kg for timber.
CSP Pacific’s Byron Lumsden and Ian Rowland were on hand for the installation of the Wide TRACC to ensure everything went smoothly.
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“They were very helpful in installing the Wide TRACC™ – being on site at the time, supporting the guys when they needed it. CSP staff have been very helpful and useful during the project,”
says Stephen.
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The new crash cushion is the world’s most southern Wide TRACC™ installation.
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