Hapuawhenua Viaduct. Central North Is. New Zealand.
S 39° 23.190 E 175° 24.080
60H E 362321 N 5639112
This item of New Zealand’s engineering heritage was recognised as part of the IPENZ “Engineering to 1990” project which the Institution organised to help celebrate the country’s sesquicentenary in 1990.
Waymark Code: WMB7BQ
Location: North Island, New Zealand
Date Posted: 04/14/2011
Views: 2
The new Hapuawhenua Viaduct was recognised as part of the IPENZ “Engineering to 1990” project which the Institution organised to help celebrate the country’s sesquicentenary in 1990. A plaque was unveiled to mark the significance of this railway viaduct as part of the development of the nation.
Owner: ONTRACK (New Zealand Railways Corporation)
Design: Beca Carter Hollings & Ferner Ltd
Contractor: Fletcher Construction Co
Conservation was a key element in the construction of the 414m-long, 45m-high Hapuawhenua viaduct rail bridge, central North Island.
Stringent conditions were observed during construction of the 20 support piers, which rise up to 47m above a stream bed, to protect the surrounding 500-year-old podocarp forest along the steep lower slopes of the Tongariro National Park.
The post-tensioned concrete bridge deck was cast in situ using a specially designed self launching falsework girder unit 45m long and weighing 70 tonnes. Abutment spans (10% of superstructure) of box girder construction.
Foundations of 1.2m-diameter 10m-long bored and cast in situ belled piles with four piles for the anchor pier and two piles for other piers.
Completed May 1987
Cost: NZ $6.1 million
Further Information quoted from the IPENZ website: "The new Hapuawhenua viaduct epitomises the three aims of engineering: function, economy and (above all) grace. Completed in 1987, this 414 m long viaduct is the major structure on the 10 km Ohakune to Horopito deviation.
The Hapuawhenua viaduct was built not only to improve alignment but also to eliminate concern over the remaining fatigue life of the old curved viaduct. Constructed from a combination of reinforced and prestressed concrete, this slender structure is a ‘state of the art’ design, which takes advantage of the development of engineering knowledge of the behaviour of structures under extreme conditions, and especially those of a major earthquake.
It is part of the long deferred North Island Main Trunk line electrification scheme which has enabled a 50% increase in train load and has cut the transit time by 1.5 hours. The track upgrading and 25 kV a.c. electrification of its mountainous central section between Palmerston North and Te Rapa, north of Hamilton is is by far the most significant and far reaching improvement to New Zealand’s railway network since the completion of the North Island Main Trunk in 1908."
Location:
Main Trunk Line, near Ohakune.
North Is.
New Zealand.
Type of structure/site: Railway Viaduct.
Date of Construction: May 1987.
Engineer/Architect/Builder etc.: Design: Beca Carter Hollings & Ferner Ltd Contractor: Fletcher Construction Co
Engineering Organization Listing: Other (specify in description)
Primary Web Site: [Web Link]
Secondary Web Site: [Web Link]
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