Waterfront infrastructure and nearshore habitats for marine life and coastal birds
Ngā Ūranga to Pito-one section of the Te Ara Tupua project, Wellington, New Zealand
October 2023
Status: Tide Pool Armor installed in Nearshore Habitat; up to 240 more to be installed in the rock armored revetment
The Goal
ECOncrete tide pools were chosen to provide habitat for marine life and coastal birds in specially designated nearshore structures and over two hundred more will be installed in the rock armored revetment to support biodiversity and ecosystem services in the intertidal zone.
The Challenge
Amongst the issues with development along the coastal edge is the disturbance of habitat during construction. As part of a long-term project, Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency needed a solution to be built early in the project to meet their environmental requirements.
How We Built It
The Te Ara Tupua Project to create a walking and cycling link and improve transport resilience between Wellington and Lower Hutt will see over two hundred ECOncrete Tide Pools installed in 2024. The pools will be installed in the waterfront infrastructure’s rock armored revetment to support biodiversity and ecosystem services in the intertidal zone.
Another forward thinking and resilient solution is already in place: the coastal edge of the Ngā Ūranga ki Pito-One section of the project now has two completed nearshore habitats that Wellingtonians are able to glimpse on their day-to-day commute. These habitats provide a place for flying birds to land and roost clear of coastal construction activity on the project, and had to be built early in the project to meet its environmental requirements.
The Te Ara Tupua Project is being delivered by the Te Ara Tupua Alliance; a team made up of Waka Kotahi, Downer NZ, HEB Construction and Tonkin+Taylor.
