The Tararua Alliance has been recognised with top honours at a gathering of the country’s civil construction industry in Invercargill on Friday 16 August.  

The Alliance took out the top spot in the Maintenance Category award at the CCNZ Hirepool Construction Excellence Awards. Winners were announced at a black-tie ceremony at Southland's Bill Richardson Transport Museum, at the conclusion of the CCNZ annual conference.

The Tararua Alliance was up against five other maintenance contracts from around the country, including Fulton Hogan contracts for the Chatham Islands and central Auckland, HEB constrution for Christchurch city road maintenance, Hiway Tairawhiti for emergency works on the east coast, and McConnell Dowell for maintaining the Mangere Auckland wastewater treatment plant.

Tararua District Mayor Tracey Collis was delighted to get the news on Friday night: “It is absolutely fantastic to have the Tararua Alliance and our District recognised nationally. This is good news for our community that highlights the great service they receive.”

Tararua Alliance Manager Dan Erard echoed the sentiment on behalf of the team based at Oringi, Dannevirke. “For the field staff who are out on the roads, the support team in the office, and our subcontractors, this award is something we can all be very proud of.

“Our entry described the many ways we provide value to the Tararua community and emphasised the importance of our relationships with Rangitāne o Tamaki nui-ā-Rua and Ngāti Kahungunu ki Tāmaki nui-a-Rua, Horizons Regional Council and Waka Kotahi NZTA. Together we were able to scale up quickly after Cyclone Gabrielle and the collaborative processes that have proven invaluable in emergency works have continued to be an integral part of the way roading happens here.”

Dan says the district has a lot to be proud of and it was an honour for the Tararua Alliance team to be recognised amongst the country’s civil construction high-flyers.

Tararua District Council Infrastructure Manager, Hamish Featonby, was equally pleased with the result. “We're grateful to our partner Downer who support TDC and ensure the Alliance continues to go from strength to strength – we look forward to seeing what's next.”