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AUGUST 31, 2023
Quarry details unveiled By Mary Anne Gill
The company behind plans for a giant quarry on the outskirts of Cambridge is disputing claims there will be up to 400 trucks a day travelling through the town when it begins operations. At most there would be 1015 trucks daily, Fulton Hogan resources manager Arthur Fulton and consents manager Jo Young told The News in an exclusive interview last week. The company supports a northern on-ramp at the end of Tirau Road and says it is likely many trucks leaving the quarry to go north would use the new turnaround four kilometres south of the Waikato Expressway at Hydro Road “We want to dispel the stories people are saying about the number of trucks (going through town), it’s just misinformation,” said Fulton. “The reality is 200 truckloads is our absolute maximum,” said Young of the numbers likely to leave the site daily from the Newcombe Road quarry. “Our consent will say ‘you will have to shut the gates if you get to 200 loads’,” she said. Of those, only five percent would go through Cambridge. Few truck companies would want their truck and trailer units regularly navigating the Carter’s Flat hill - it would be cheaper to go the extra eight kilometres to and from Hydro Road and then head north, avoiding Cambridge. New Zealand-owned Fulton Hogan, is the holding company for the proposed quarry’s operators RS Sand Ltd. They have been researching sites
On ramp is off agenda By Mary Anne Gill
Waka Kotahi does not believe a northbound on-ramp at the end of Tirau Road in Cambridge is required and will not support construction of one “at this stage.” The transport agency’s response comes following news Fulton Hogan supports the Cambridge Chamber of Commerce’s call for an on-ramp. When the interchange at Tirau Road was designed, it was done so with longer trips in mind, said Waikato BOP regional manager for system design, Jess Andrew. “It was considered that there would be sufficient capacity on the old SH1 through Cambridge to provide for growth on the local network.” Fulton Hogan says many northbound trucks leaving its quarry would head south to a new turnaround bay at the intersection of SH1 and Hydro Road rather than go through Cambridge. Waka Kotahi says it has looked at the impacts to traffic flow. Given the limited number of trucks that would potentially use this turnaround area - based on the figures in the traffic assessment this would be between one-three trucks an hour - it was unlikely to have significant impact on the efficiency of the state highway, said Andrew. Construction of another turnaround bay, at Keeley’s Reserve on SH1, east Fulton Hogan says it would not want its trucks negotiating the Carter’s Flat Hill and going through the town. of Cambridge, is set to start next Photo: Mary Anne Gill. month and finish before the busy summer period. in the North Island for years. pumping $4 million annually into 25 years with environmental The turnarounds are crucial pieces “This is not a random site we’ve the Cambridge community - and rehabilitation done in stages. chosen,” said Young. supply sand to concrete plants “There is going to be an affect, needed before additional flexible The company says the quarry around the North Island including there is also a benefit,” said Fulton. safety median barriers can be will turn over $6 million a year – Cambridge. It will operate for Continued on page 2 installed, said Andrew.
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