27 November 2025:

The closing act on the Brynderwyn Hills Resilience Project in mid-November received an online standing ovation. More than 1,500 positive comments were posted by the public on NZTA’s Facebook site about the sealing of the final 2.5km stretch of SH1 at the summit of the Brynderwyn Hill, between Auckland and Whangarei.

Two four-day weekend closures were originally planned. By involving multiple parts of Fulton Hogan’s supply chain, it was achieved in a single four-day ‘super weekend’.

The 24 hours-a-day project involved 160 people on the ground working 4,500 hours over the four days. A total of 3,800 tonnes of asphalt was delivered in 115 round trips from Auckland’s Reliable Way plant.

Nine Fulton Hogan teams also took the road closure as an opportunity for maintenance, including vegetation control, removing litter, drain maintenance, guardrail repairs, retaining wall inspections and sign replacements and cleaning.

Surfacing Divisional Manager, Shane Penn Sawers, says the various crews “showed incredible levels of motivation to get the job done, delivering a product that they can be proud of.

“This project was the highlight of the year for our team,” Shane says.

Shane acknowledged the 115,000-plus hours worked by Fulton Hogan teams and contractors on the wider Brynderwyns project before them, making this “icing on the cake” possible.

The Brynderwyns Hills Resilience Project was triggered by Cyclone Gabrielle in 2023 and faced challenging, unstable, soils and subsequent damaging weather events. The project has been recognised with two health and safety awards and CCNZ Northland Awards for Projects and Innovation, respectively.