Meet the smart team
It takes a smart team to build a smart motorway and our team has the experience and expertise to get the job done.
Glen Prince
The Transport Agency’s Principal Project Manager Glen Prince has overall responsibility to deliver the smart motorway. “I’ve seen how smart motorways work in the UK and it’s exciting that our team is bringing the first one to New Zealand. But it’s not only the technology that’s exciting. We’re doing some clever things to use our existing assets like recycling the Kaiwharawhara Bridge and limiting the amount of widening needed. This saves money and is also good from an environmental point of view.”
Steve Beddow
Steve Beddow is the lead contracting project manager. He keeps a handle on all the physical works being done by the engineering and design teams. Steve says one of the biggest things to manage on this project is the number of people it takes to put a project like this together. ‘It’s all worth it when we hit our programme targets and you see things being built. It’s the most satisfying part of the job.”
Adrian Grainger
Construction Manager Adrian Grainger worked on smart motorways in the UK and is excited to be working on the first one in New Zealand. “A smart motorway is an interesting engineering job because it’s all about the technology. The construction is facilitating the tech. I’ve seen smart motorways work well in the UK so it’s great to help bring the first one to New Zealand.”
Blair Mould
Design Manager Blair Mould is responsible to ensure the project is feasible and the design plans can be brought to life effectively. “This is quite an unusual project in a civil engineering sense. Normally when a project’s completed we hand it over with technical advice on maintenance but with a smart motorway the work is ongoing to ensure the Intelligent Transport System continues to deliver.”
Bruce Walton
Bruce Walton, is the Intelligent Transport System expert on the smart motorway and has worked on similar roads in the UK. "Smart motorways are actually very clever. They use real-time travel information to inform the system how the network should operate to provide optimum efficiency. We're in a great position to innovate as we get to take the best bits from smart motorways in the US, Australia and the UK to build a solution to suit Wellington’s particular needs.”
Adam Hunt
Health and Safety Manager Adam Hunt’s role is to ensure everyone on site has the knowledge and equipment they need to stay safe. “Working mostly at night in a live motorway environment presents a unique set of health and safety challenges. So I try to balance being on site to support and check work, as well as being in the office during the day to get the paperwork done.”
Servjit Aulak
As Construction Supervisor, Servjit Aulak oversees the teams who do the project’s construction work. “There’s a small army of people who work on a job like this. It’s like a big jigsaw puzzle. We have to make sure jobs are done at the right time and in the right order so I’m often trying to think three steps ahead.” Servjit has worked on smart motorways in the UK and has seen the benefits they offer.
Dan Edwards
Project Engineer Dan Edwards supervises the three site engineers working on the project. “We’ve got a good team of engineers who plan their own works with input from myself as required."
Dan’s excited about hitting the construction milestones. “Seeing the gantries installed, the barrier completed and the bridge moved will be exciting. It's great to see all the parts of a project come together.”
Jack Gillard
Site Engineer Jack Gillard is managing the Kaiwharawhara bridge relocation. “We’ve got to move the old structure, which weighs around 300 tonnes, by lifting it, lowering it and then sliding it into its new position. It’s technically challenging and we also need to ensure it maintains its seismic stability during the move.”
Mandeep Singh
Project Engineer Mandeep Singh is responsible for the project’s gantries, which will eventually display electronic signs telling drivers the speed limit or other important information. “I’ve developed methodologies and inspection plans for each of the 18 gantries. Then I’ve developed a work plan for each one which aims to minimise disruption to drivers while we install them on site. We have to close the motorway while they go in so it’s important to get the planning just right.”
Paddy Kiely
Project Engineer Paddy Kiely is responsible for the central median safety barrier in the project. Over three kilometres of barrier is being replaced which is a long and disruptive part of the work. “It’s my first time working on a live motorway and there are some unique challenges. Working on the central barrier in a restricted space with traffic around you on both sides is interesting. You need to be really efficient with your time to minimise any disruption to the public.”
Kevin McPhee
Kevin McPhee is the fictitious traffic scientist who will front some of the smart motorway driver awareness campaign. Kev’s excited to be put to work on a project that demonstrates how new traffic technologies can really help reduce congestion and get people where they’re going sooner and more safely.
Got a question for the team? Email us at ntaq@nzta.govt.nz .