Multi-million dollar safety upgrade for New Zealand tunnel

New Zealand transport Minister Simon Bridges has announced work is set to begin on a multi-million dollar fire deluge system that will improve safety and reduce the risk of lengthy closures at Lyttelton Tunnel south of Christchurch. The US$19.9 million (NZ$28.7 million) project is the largest project undertaken at the tunnel since it opened in 1964. The contract has been awarded to McConnell Dowell, with work set to start in the coming weeks. A fire sprinkler system is the most effective means of mana
May 18, 2017 Read time: 1 min
New Zealand transport Minister Simon Bridges has announced work is set to begin on a multi-million dollar fire deluge system that will improve safety and reduce the risk of lengthy closures at Lyttelton Tunnel south of Christchurch.


The US$19.9 million (NZ$28.7 million) project is the largest project undertaken at the tunnel since it opened in 1964. The contract has been awarded to McConnell Dowell, with work set to start in the coming weeks.

A fire sprinkler system is the most effective means of managing fire risk in the tunnel and is designed to control and contain a fire until fire services reach the scene. The project involves the construction of two reservoirs, two pump stations, and the installation of 9km of pipe work and 2,400 fire sprinkler nozzles throughout the tunnel.

The project is expected to be complete by December 2018.

Related Content

  • GridMatrix goes back to the future in New York City
    September 25, 2023
    Legacy traffic management infrastructure doesn’t have to be a marker of the past: software upgrades can bring it into the present in a cost-effective and timely way, says Gordon Feller
    Read More
  • Indra implements ITS technology on Mexico’s Guadalajara-Tepic motorways
    May 22, 2012
    The leading road concessionaire in Mexico, Ideal, has awarded Spanish multinational Indra a US$21.67 million contract for implementing its technology in the three motorways that make up what is known as Mexico's South Pacific Package for the amount of €17 million. The project consists of implementing the ITS as well as the tolls and electronic tolls on the motorway that connects the cities of Tepic and Guadalajara, the second most important in Mexico, as well as in the beltways of both cities.
    Read More
  • Parsons Brinckerhoff to modernise Michigan freeway
    July 4, 2014
    Parsons Brinckerhoff has been awarded a contract to assist the Michigan Department of Transportation (DOT) with the delivery of a project to modernise an 18-mile section of the I-75 freeway in Oakland County, Michigan. The US$850 million project, which runs from Auburn Hills to Hazel Park, involves reconstruction of the highway along with the addition of the first high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes in Michigan. The project includes replacement of 51 bridges, reconstructing existing road surface, improvin
    Read More
  • UK tunnel officially opened
    April 20, 2012
    UK transport secretary Philip Hammond yesterday cut the ribbon at the Hindhead twin bore tunnel in Surrey, signifying the end of a US$605 million, 1.8 km-long bypass of Hindhead village on the A3 between London and Portsmouth. The new tunnels will be used by 30,000 vehicles/day.
    Read More

Highlighted Content