CRL Connection
5 July 2017
City Rail Link Ltd established
Sir Brian Roche
From left: Transport Minister Simon Bridges, Auckland Mayor Phil Goff and Finance Minister Steven Joyce signing the CRL Ltd partnership agreement
Finance Minister Steven Joyce and Transport Minister Simon Bridges have hailed the City Rail Link (CRL) as a major game-changer for Auckland. They were speaking outside Britomart Station at a ceremony to formalise the partnership between Government and Auckland Council to deliver New Zealand’s largest infrastructure project. CRL Ltd took effect from 1 July. Mr Bridges called it an historic moment: “This is the biggest infrastructure project we’ve ever seen and will mean a massive injection in capacity to enable Aucklanders to get around the city more efficiently.” Finance Minister Steven Joyce said it was a very big investment and it was important to get the structure right. “This is a complex and critical piece of infrastructure that will unlock major development opportunities across central Auckland. It is crucial we have a single joint entity running the project solely focused on delivering a high-quality result for the city,” he said. Mayor Goff said the CRL is also good news for Aucklanders looking for employment and training.
“The construction of the CRL will not only help ease pressure on our roads, it will provide training opportunities, apprenticeships and jobs for thousands of Kiwi workers over the coming years,” he said. The Crown and Auckland Council have signed agreements transferring the project from Auckland Transport to CRL Ltd, formalising their partnership to jointly fund and oversee it through to completion. Under the leadership of chairman Sir Brian Roche, CRL Ltd will drive delivery of this complex project with the same core team of dedicated people. Japanese
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Arabic ةرشنلا اذه مهف يف ةدعاسم ىلإ ةجاحب تنك اذإ، هاندأ ينورتكلإلا ديربلا ناونع ربع انب لاصتالا ىجري.
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New website for CRL
For the first time, the CRL project has its own website. We’ve launched it to coincide with the establishment of CRL Ltd. Under the Heads of Agreement signed by the Crown and Auckland Council, on 1 July 2017, CRL Limited became a Crown entity, created to deliver Auckland’s CRL. You’ll find: • lots of background about the project including the latest designs of the new train stations • the history of Auckland’s debate about improving the rail system • regular updates about the construction • recent drone photos and the latest construction images • explanations of the construction methods • the latest procurement updates
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• our regular newsletters you can read online • our project milestones • how you can get a job at CRL and what it’s like working there • See how safety and sustainability are priorities for the project • And much more! We’ll be updating the website regularly. You can also follow cityraillink on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and Linkedin. You can read more about CRL Ltd, contact us here and read our website privacy policy. Tell your friends cityraillink.co.nz has arrived so you can follow this exciting project closely over the next few years.
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CHEAP
Cheap Eats is a new campaign to spread the Albert St love! While there’s construction happening in the city, both private and public, it shouldn’t stop people enjoying what’s on the doorstep. The Albert St area is a melting pot of different types of cuisine from Asian fusion delights and mouth-watering burgers to world-class coffee and delicious muffins. Whether you’re after a quick bite or romantic dining, there is something for everyone on Albert St, with a huge range of meals available for under $15! Just check out the Cheap Eats map above or on our Facebook page to find Albert St’s wide variety of dining spots. Treat your colleagues to a ‘cheap eat’ lunch, meet your
friends for an after-work catch-up or bring your family over the weekend and enjoy what Albert St has to offer. However, the Albert St area provides more than just delicious food and drink. There is shopping, a game of pool, karaoke, live music, a massage, the chance to plan your next holiday or the opportunity to relax at a local establishment to see from above what’s happening with CRL construction. The local businesses around Albert St are open as usual and keen to welcome you, so please continue to support them through the construction period. The Cheap Eats campaign is brought to you by CRL and Activate Auckland.
Sumo Sushi – big on freshness and value “This is no ordinary sushi shop - we’re the biggest sushi restaurant in Auckland and can fit up to 130 people,” he says. “More than 80 per cent of our customers are regulars who love our fresh sushi and our nice hot food. We provide a very quick service for people on a short lunch break. Our sushi is made fresh every day and our very delicious hot food is ready to go in only five minutes. “If customers want to eat at the restaurant, we have plenty of room for them to sit, talk and relax.” If fresh New Zealand Bluff salmon is your kettle of fish, the Sumo Sushi restaurant at 55 Albert Street always has more than enough to satisfy hungry diners. It goes through 20kg of it every day! Owner/manager Keum Kiwoon (pictured) says Sumo Sushi prides itself on its fresh ingredients and delicious Japanese cuisine.
Some of Sumo Sushi’s most popular meals include teriyaki chicken donburi, chicken katsu udon and miso ramen, and it has introduced a new dish to its menu – katsu curry with chicken or pork. Keum says he also has a special vinegar sauce that you won’t find elsewhere.
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Bentonite plant set up on Lower Queen Street It’s hard to miss the large red silos that have gone up in Lower Queen Street. They’re there to fulfil an important task in preparing Britomart Station’s Chief Post Office (CPO) building for CRL tunnel excavation. The silos are part of a specialised bentonite plant, shipped from France by CRL contractor Downer Soletanche-Bachy Joint Venture, to help with the construction of diaphragm walls that will support the CPO building foundations and the CRL tunnel box. This week, three more silos arrived to complete the set-up of the plant, which will remain on site until early 2018. Sodium bentonite is an absorbent clay that expands when wet. At the CPO building, bentonite slurry (a mix of bentonite powder and water) will be pumped into the trenches being excavated for the diaphragm walls to ensure the sides don’t cave in and ground water levels remain constant. The slurry keeps surrounding earth stable until steel reinforced concrete can be added in its place. Once concrete starts to be added from the bottom of the newlycreated diaphragm wall, the bentonite is progressively displaced and sucked out of the diaphragm wall by a specialised hydraulic pump and transferred back to the silos. The slurry can then be reused again and again as required. When working around sensitive heritage buildings, this method has less impact than traditional piling techniques as it minimises noise, vibration and impact on natural ground water levels.
A new silo being lifted in to Lower Queen Street.
New CRL hoardings on Albert Street
As CRL works progress along Albert Street, the project hoardings are now being moved progressively from the footpaths towards the centre of the road. The hoardings (the safety and noise barriers designed to protect people from construction activities) located between Wyndham and Swanson Sts have already moved and the remainder between Swanson and Customs Streets will gradually move inwards over the next few months. With hundreds of metres of hoarding required, the project
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team looked for a design that would provide a restful element amid the buzz of construction. Working with members of the community, we’ve opted for native trees and birds to create a bright, vibrant front garden for the street. The design provides a softening touch for the construction hoardings that will be a part of Albert Street for the next 18 months. The hoardings also provide wayfinding and remind people that all local businesses are open as usual during the construction period.
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Albert Street works full steam ahead On Albert Street, between Wyndham and Swanson Streets, the top 1.5m of road surface continues to be removed to allow the installation of an extensive steel support structure ahead of the bulk excavation works for the CRL tunnels. This structure will hold piled retaining walls apart during the tunnel excavation along Albert Street and will also support a pre-cast concrete deck that enables the entire excavation to be completed while maintaining a lane of traffic in each direction. In the coming months, the operation will progress towards Customs Street and is expected to be completed in October. During this time, Connectus will also start excavating down to the level of the depth of the future CRL tunnels, progressively moving north from the Wyndham Street end.
The third traffic deck at cnr Albert/Customs St
At the Albert/Customs intersection, construction is nearing completion on the third of four sections of the traffic deck, which will form part of a bridge structure that spans the entire intersection, allowing all four traffic lanes to be re-established (likely by the end of September) while the CRL tunnels are constructed underneath.
Stormwater shafts being sealed and backfilled Now that the replacement stormwater pipe has been installed under Albert Street, the shafts that received the tunnel boring machines are being sealed and backfilled. This will allow the hoardings and construction sites to be removed from the shaft sites. The Swanson Street shaft has been completed and reinstated. The Wellesley Street shaft is expected to be completed and reinstated in August. The two shafts at Victoria Street will remain in place until October while strengthening of the Orakei Main Sewer is undertaken. This work is required before the start of construction on the future mid-town station.
Looking down the shaft on the cnr of Victoria and Albert Sts, a new reinforced concrete chamber is being built to connect the existing Victoria St stormwater line with the new pipe-jacked line visible at the bottom right of this photo.
Traffic changes around Albert Street Southbound traffic has been diverted off Albert Street to the Wyndham to Victoria Street slip lane by the bluestone heritage wall. This provides the contractor a laydown and stockpiling area opposite the district court to facilitate the excavation and backfill operations associated with the tunnel construction.
for three months via Swanson Street West and Federal Street to allow contractors more space to excavate the roadway and install the large steel struts and pre-cast concrete traffic decks. Wolfe Street will be accessible from Federal Street but there will be no access from the Albert Street end.
Traffic along Albert Street has been temporarily diverted
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Galway service trench work almost complete The 3.5m-deep utility services trench constructed on Galway Street is almost complete. The trench was constructed to allow re-routing of existing underground services that would otherwise clash with CRL tunnel extension work at Britomart Station. Pre-cast concrete panels have been placed over the top of the trench and a structural topping will shortly be applied to form a concrete slab lid for the trench. A new water treatment plant will be installed in Galway Street on 10 July.
‘Pot-holing’ works completed As part of the investigation and design work for CRL tunnels and stations, contractors have spent several months verifying underground utilities along the CRL route between the future Aotea Station on Albert Street and Mt Eden Station. This investigative work is referred to as “pot-holing”. It involves digging a small cross-section of pavement to reveal the extent, condition and exact location of utilities - from communications cables, electricity cables and ducts and gas pipes to stormwater, wastewater and drinking water pipes. Some were laid decades ago when record-keeping was less robust and it’s critical to the project to know where they are all located so decisions can be made around which utilities need to be moved. Pot-holing also helps to prevent unexpected surprises during major construction works that could result in unwanted delays and extra expenses for the project and major inconvenience to local residents and businesses. Utilities buried 180 -1050mm under Pitt Street.
Walkway gets finishing touches Have you checked out the new Lower Queen Street walkway yet? The walkway provides a safe route through the CRL and Commercial Bay construction area between Customs and Quay Streets. It features a distinctive wave pattern that reflects its harbourside location and lights up at night. The walls of the walkway have now received some finishing touches with the addition of project images and messages.
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