SH1 SLIP 3 KAIKOURA

Slope stabilisation works on the majestic Kaikoura coastline in NZ following the destructive 2016 earthquakes

Project Overview

A major slip developed above SH1 just south of the Kaikoura Airport because of the 2016 7.8 magnitude Kaikoura Earthquake. The head scarp was over 60m above the state highway and over 90m across at the toe of the slip which consisted of friable soil and rock overlying a highly fractured greywacke bedrock.

The slip required around 3500m2 of actively stabilized TECCO G65/3 mesh with over 600No. 40/16 hollow bar DCP anchors installed under a grout flush to 6-9m in depth.

Geovert Solution

Due to the requirement to keep one lane open, Geovert proposed to install the mesh and tension it into position prior to undertaking production drilling on the face reducing the risks of falling rocks for road users and ensuring our crews safety.

Installing the mesh first allowed the time to build an 18m high reach telehandler with a radio control unit mounted with a camera at the end of the boom along with a crane platform with that allowed us to drill with high powered hydraulic drills to 60m safely while keeping a lane open on SH1.

Developing several high reach drilling options with more powerful hydraulic drills enabled the drilling to be completed in less than half the expected time with light weight pneumatic equipment, driving down cost and opening SH1 up to 2 lanes significantly earlier than planned.