With nearly a quarter of a million cubic metres of bulk fill compaction along the shores of the Otago Harbour, the Portobello Road team is welcoming New Zealand’s first construction roller with a factory built twin plate compactor attached to the back.

The German-made Hamm H13i t increases operator safety along the shoulder, while boosting productivity by construction rolling and shoulder compacting at the same time.

The plate compactors are capable of sliding 800mm outside the roller’s wheelbase both to the left and the right side of the machine, allowing the operator to keep a safe distance from the shoulder. The plates can be detached on a quick hitch system in a couple of minutes if they’re not required. The same goes for the pads foot (sheep’s foot) shells on the drum, which can also be removed to utilise the roller for the pavement construction

“In the past we‘ve been using modified equipment as well as rolling near the shoulder using traditional rollers – not a practice we endorse,” South Island Contracting Operations Manager Tony Thompson says.

“These unsafe practices have put our people at risk of serious harm in the past, especially if a driver is distracted and/or if there is a soft or uneven shoulder. The Moving Plant CRG has been working on solutions to this risk for some time so this roller has been a great solution.”

Project Manager Jamie Ward-Allen says early feedback from operators has been encouraging.

“It’s packing the material right to the edge of the plates, and the operators are liking being a comfortable distance from the shoulder,” Jamie says. A ‘guide bar’ at the front of the roller helps ensure they don’t travel closer than a metre from the shoulder.

Recently Fulton Hogan purchased a Stehr SHV 160B compactor for shoulder compaction. Tony says these do a good job, but it’s an advantage to roll the main carriageway and compact the shoulders at the same time with one machine. However one benefit of the Stehr compactor is the ability to compact over the hinge point of the shoulder and still keep the loader in a safe position on the road.

Portobello Road is being widened to create space for pedestrians and cyclists, and is a key tourist route to the head of the peninsula and the famed Gannet colony.

Key elements are bulk fill, hand-stacked rock sea walling, raising the road level to future proof against sea level rise, road widening from 6.5m to 11m, drainage improvements, surfacing works, line marking, pump station upgrades, installation of kerb blocks for a separate shared path, and landscaping and pavements.