Imported Steel : Call for Mandatory Random Testing

Further to news that shonky imported building materials and fixings have flooded the New Zealand market….

Calls for mandatory random testing of all steel imports. Surely, it is in this country’s interest to ensure that happens. –ODT

Tue, 7 Jun 2016
ODT Editorial: Time for imported steel tests
OPINION Is it only a matter of time before New Zealand experiences another building disaster on the scale of the leaky home debacle? It is hard not to ponder that thought following revelations inferior Chinese-made steel, destined for use as steel piles on a multimillion-dollar roading project in the Waikato, was uncovered in this country. […] The Government has been quick to dismiss the issue as a one-off and said it would not investigate the importation of the weak steel. But those in the industry have some genuine fears. While this steel was identified as inferior, there are concerns other imported steel being used in the private sector will not be subjected to subsequent testing once in New Zealand. Who will know if it meets the required standard?

█ NZTA: Take a Virtual Tour and Learn about the Waikato Expressway
The Waikato Expressway is a big highway project. Some parts are already built and others are under construction. It will provide a four-lane highway from the Bombay Hills to south of Cambridge. It will be part of State Highway 1, New Zealand’s main road which runs the length of the country.
https://education.nzta.govt.nz/field-trips/tour-waikato-expressway

Stuff: Waikato Expressway – Karapiro Gully Viaduct March 2016

Tue, 7 Jun 2016
ODT: ‘No concerns’ over steel in bridge
The New Zealand Transport Agency says it has “no concerns whatsoever” over the quality of steel at the Lookout Point bridge. The assurance came after 500 tonnes of steel from China to be used for four bridges on the Huntly bypass that forms part of the Waikato Expressway was found to be too weak for the purpose. The New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) was reported last week as saying there was no safety issue with the four bridges.

Wed, 1 Jun 2016
Stuff: Chinese steel fails strength test
Roading bosses are defending their quality control standards after 1600 tonnes of Chinese steel destined for a major Waikato project was found to be below standard. The substandard steel piles were to be used on four bridges along the Huntly section of the Waikato Expressway. The 15.2 kilometre-long section is being built by a Fulton Hogan HEB joint venture who purchased the steel from New Zealand company Steel & Tube Holdings.

Wed, 1 Jun 2016 [earlier story]
RNZ News: Steel for Huntly bypass bridges fails test
Sixteen hundred tonnes of steel from China has been found to be too weak for four bridges on the $450 million Huntly bypass that forms part of the $2 billion Waikato Expressway. Contractors building the ‘Road of National Significance’ chose a very low bid for the steel tubes. But the test certificates for them have turned out to be wrong, and now an expensive fix-up job is under way. The contractors, Fulton Hogan and HEB Construction, have admitted to RNZ News the steel tubes were not good enough. They did not comply with standards for structural steel, which for bridges were very high as they must resist impacts, heavy loads and low temperatures.

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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr