Jobs and Skills Hub opens

Te Awa Kairangi ki Tai/Lower Hutt Jobs and Skills Hub opened its doors earlier this month, welcoming local job seekers looking to work in construction and infrastructure in the Hutt. Doors are open for walk-ins during business hours. Job seekers of all levels and experience can chat with Hub staff about their skills, and available jobs and training opportunities.

The Hub opened at 9 Kings Crescent on Monday 9 October. It’s operated by the Ministry of Social Development, in collaboration with central government, local government, mana whenua and community organisations. It will play a big part in the delivery of Te Wai Takamori o Te Awa Kairangi. Hubs like this are a no-cost recruitment and training facilitation service to support the construction and infrastructure sectors in New Zealand and improve employment and skills outcomes for communities.

Upcoming opportunities include paid six-week cadetships where people can get their tickets and endorsement to work in the industry.

Introducing Brian Kirtlan

We’re pleased to introduce Brian Kirtlan as Te Wai Takamori o Te Awa Kairangi Alliance Manager. With over 30 years of civil engineering experience, Brian brings a wealth of knowledge to the team and project.

Most recently, Brian led a team of 1,300 people to deliver the North Canterbury Transport Infrastructure Recovery (NCTIR) Alliance. NCTIR was formed to rebuild the rail and road network between Christchurch and Picton after the Kaikoura earthquake.

Brian is excited about the opportunity this project brings to the local community and is looking forward to meeting many of you as the project progresses.

Daly Street demolition

Work on Daly Street is progressing well and we’re excited to move into the next phase with demolition and removal of buildings.

The local contractor McMahon Services NZ Limited has carefully removed the asbestos and will now start demolishing the buildings. This work will take place over the next two months. Traffic management will be in place for the safety of road users and pedestrians.

Salvage day success

Materials that we salvaged from demolished properties on Pharazyn and Marsden Streets were made available, for free, to the community on 7 October.

Over 200 items were taken—including 14 stoves, 70 doors, 80 skirting boards, and other appliances. Thank you so much for helping us reduce the amount of waste going to landfill.

Melling Road Stop Bank Pre-loading

Delivering better flood protection is a key objective for our project and the team at Dixon Dunlop are making great progress on the gravel extraction works just south of Kennedy Good Bridge.

Over 17,000m3 of material (or around 3,000 truckloads) has been removed so far and placed along the stopbank at Melling Road. This material is being stored so we can use it later when construction starts on the new stopbank.

To stay safe while works are underway, a reminder for cyclists and pedestrians travelling along the city side of Te Awa Kairangi/Hutt River, traffic management is in place on Harcourt Werry Drive and Melling Road where trucks are crossing shared paths to collect and deposit material. Please remember to keep an eye out for trucks crossing if you are travelling through these areas.

Riverbank market here to stay!

We know everyone loves the Riverbank market, and it is here to stay—although it will move temporarily when construction starts.

Hutt City Council and the project team are working with market organisers to identify a suitable location. Once we’ve confirmed the new location and timing of the move, we’ll let you know.

In the meantime, you can expect to keep using the carpark and visiting your favourite vendors down by the river over summer.

What you’ll see in the coming months

Key activities you’ll see between now and the end of the year are continued building removals on Daly, Marsden, Pharazyn and Mills Streets, and ongoing work in the river and near the Mills Street stopbank.

We’re still busy behind the scenes reviewing the scope and cost, and developing the construction timeline for the main project works. We want to ensure that what’s delivered provides greater flood protection, improved ecological health of the river, better and more connected transport options, and a foundation for a revitalised city centre.

We know everyone is keen to understand when things are going to happen, and once we have these details confirmed, we will let you know.

More information

For more information on Te Wai Takamori o Te Awa Kairangi project like our Facebook page for updates, visit our website, or send our team an email.

Facebook: Like our page here

Website: www.teawakairangi.co.nz

Email: info@teawakairangi.co.nz

About the Alliance

Te Wai Takamori o Te Awa Kairangi (Te Awa Kairangi) – The Soothing Waters of Te Awa Kairangi is a partnership between iwi Taranaki Whānui ki Te Upoko o Te Ika and Ngāti Toa Rangatira, Greater Wellington Regional Council, Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency, Hutt City Council, and the Alliance of AECOM and Fletcher, delivering RiverLink.

The Alliance has been established to deliver the RiverLink project, which includes crucial flood protection and river restoration work, improvements to public transport, walking and cycling routes, local roads and the State Highway 2 Melling Interchange, as well as urban revitalisation of the Lower Hutt city centre.

You can learn more about the project at www.teawakairangi.co.nz