Belts and braces approach for Victoria Road roundabout

A combination of big trucks and their navigation ability prompted a ‘belts and braces’ approach to the design of the Victoria Road roundabout at Hautapu.

Collaboration with Transporting NZ, heavy haulage operators and local industrial businesses, is part of the ongoing industrial development in the area. It caters for new industry and large commercial activities which will bring more employment opportunities to Waipā.

Transport manager Bryan Hudson said there had been some concerns from industrial users about whether the roundabout was going to be big enough for oversize vehicles.

“We worked with the heavy haulage operators to make sure larger vehicles, including trucks that transport houses, were going to fit through the roundabout.”

The dimensions of the very large haulage vehicles were put into the tracking software to see how they would operate with the proposed roundabout design. The software then produced an outline of the vehicle’s outermost movements, including their maximum haulage envelope. This information was then used to update the plans.

“The designers provided extra space and flattened the kerb to ensure there was extra space provided for very long or extra-large vehicles should they need extra room to navigate the roundabout,” Hudson said.

Nightworks began this week to make sure work on the roundabout is on track to be completed by September. There will be changes to the road layout as the work nears completion.