Hillhead/QMJ 2024
Digger Man

Digger Man Blog

by Nick Drew  |  Thu 08 Feb 2024

Hyundai Excavator Flying High

When New Zealand based Hyundai dealers Porter Group had to deliver a new hydraulic excavator to a customer working on the impressive Te Ara o Te Ata: Mt Messenger Bypass project, it was never going to be a straight forward drop off!

Hyundai Excavator Flying High

The Te Ara o Te Ata – NZ$260 million Mt Messenger Bypass project involves the construction of a new 6km road which will ultimately replace the existing steep, winding and narrow State Highway 3 route over Mt Messenger in North Taranaki, a notoriously dangerous stretch of road.

The job also involves the construction of two bridges and a tunnel. Much of the work is taking place down in difficult to access deep valleys in this mountainous area. To facilitate access an impressive 1.1km cableway had to be installed, to be able to feed the project down below with all of its heavy machinery and materials both in and out. The whole scheme is designed to cut down on any ecological damage to this beautiful area caused by the works.

The cableway that was imported from Austria has a lift capacity of 20-tonnes, so the 15-tonne class Hyundai HX145CR that was being delivered to Porter Group's customer Chris Wise Contracting, was well within its capabilities.

Its always an impressive sight to see machines being delivered in this manner, checkout the video below to see more.

Loads more