Ground work for New Zealand's second largest wind farm

Once completed, Meridian’s Harapaki wind farm will be the second largest in New Zealand.

As part of construction of the main access road into the wind farm numerous slopes required significant stabilisation works.

Engaged by the Joint Venture construction team of Hick Bros and Spartan Construction, Groundfix were challenged with the task of installing over 16,000 lineal metres of DWYIDAG R32 self-drilling hollow bar and 6000m2 of MacMat-R mesh in what can only be described as very ruthless climatic conditions. Extreme wind, rain, snow, and sun. This site had it all.

All works were completed with ground-based drill rigs with rope access support for mesh installation.

In addition to the slope works, Groundfix also completed sacrificial pile tests for the turbine foundations to confirm the design assumptions for the large diameter piles that will be used for the permanent works. The sacrificial piles were 250mm diameter boreholes that are up to 12m deep and tested up to 1500kN.

CAPABILITIES
Ground anchors & micropiles
Slope stabilisation and rock fall protection
Soil nails