Transpower’s Wairau Road Grid Exit Point project is part of the North Auckland and Northland (NAaN) Project. The goal is to improve the security of supply by providing grid exit points at both sides of the Harbour Bridge – one at Hobson Street and the other at Wairau Road.
With designs and plans completed, Transpower needed a site manager to ensure efficient delivery of the site works through commissioning and final completion of the project.
The site manager role primarily involved coordinating and managing all contractors on the site. This included a team from Hawkins Construction who constructed the GIS building; a team from Alstom Grid (France) who supplied and installed the 220kV Gas Insulated Switchgear (GIS); a team from ABB who installed the 120MVA 220/33kV transformer; and a team from Olex who supplied and installed the 220kV cables and Electrix who installed the protection & SMS systems.
The site is also located next to a Vector switchyard and in a flood zone which provided additional risks and challenges during the construction works.
In order to ensure the construction works kept running smoothly throughout the project lifecycle, the Edison role involved careful planning of movement on site and in particular around the restricted areas.
Despite the site specific constraints and hold-ups with flooding, the project was completed on time and to specification.
Brett Stark, Transpower
