Newly installed Nu-Guard® 31 Guardrail saves lives

Newly installed Nu-Guard® 31 Guardrail, from CSP, has assisted in saving the lives of three young overseas visitors who were travelling south to Greymouth on Shines Hill near Charleston when their driver lost control of the vehicle.

The driver failed to see the signs for road works, consequently braking heavily in gravel and losing control of the rental car which then spun, smashing into the guardrail and extensively damaging its front and rear.

Fulton Hogan, the contractor awarded the work on this section of road under the NZ Transport Agency’s West Coast *Network Outcomes Contract (NOC) had, just days before, completed the installation of 200m of CSP’s Nu-Guard® 31 Guardrail System.

“The work included a minor realignment of the road and an upgrade of the timber rail that was there previously,” explains Stephen Lowe, Contracts Manager for Fulton Hogan. “The work on this stretch of SH6 was driven by the crash history of the area as there had been fatalities on that section in the past.”

The newly installed Nu-Guard® 31 Guardrail System prevented the vehicle from going over the bank and dropping four metres into the river. “If the driver had stuck to the speed limit they would have been fine, but they were visitors to the country and didn’t see the signs. They are very lucky it wasn't more serious and that new barrier was in place.”

Once the collision had been reported to his team, Stephen said they were able to repair the barrier the same day, making it safe once again.

*Network Outcomes Contracts (NOC)

The Transport Agency has moved away from the previous approach of utilising a range of different contract models in the maintenance business.

Having reviewed its asset management practices and procurement procedures for state highway maintenance and operations expenditure the Transport Agency introduced a number of changes to its existing procedures to obtain greater value for money and improved customer satisfaction. These changes resulted in the formation of Network Outcomes Contracts (NOC) around the country.

For further information on the NOC, contact HNONetworkOutcomesContractGMG@nzta.govt.nz