The recipient of this award is selected from the winners of each of the Project and Product Awards. The award recognises the project which stands out from the others in terms of its eminence and contribution to engineering and New Zealand. 

Tauranga Harbour Link
NZ Transport Agency, Beca, URS New Zealand and The Fletcher Construction Company Ltd

The Tauranga Harbour Link is more than a second bridge across the harbour. The project reshaped the transport corridors in a growing city and improved feeder routes into the rapidly growing export port in a manner that sig-nificantly enhanced this community amenity. Trip reliability and travel times have improved beyond expectation.  The overall outcome has wide community support. The project was delivered ahead of schedule through a part-nering approach involving designers, the client and the consultant.

The project successfully addressed many issues. Technical challenges included mitigating the liquefaction potential of the soil beneath the embankments, ensuring the construction materials used would perform well in a marine environment and remain durable over the extended project lifetime, managing onsite activities to minimise discharges or other effects that would have environmental impact, and ensuring an excellent workplace safety record. A communications' plan was developed based on active community involvement, and volunteer assistance was used when bridge sections were launched between piers. In addition, a bridge open day was held, projects to expose students to careers in engineering with local schools and tertiary institutions were instigated, and project sponsorship for a cycle safety programme was sought.

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