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CRL Connection

13 April 2017

Up Café owners Lisa Hawkins and Aaron Paul

Up Café – a hidden treasure Located on the first floor of the Quay West building near the bottom of Albert Street, is a great café that’s attracting a real following with those who have discovered it. Opened in June 2015, Up Café is owned and managed by Lisa Hawkins and her partner Aaron Paul. Lisa has 15 years’ experience in the hospitality trade in Australia and New Zealand while Paul has a business background. The café is stylish and modern with a welcoming feel, and Aaron says they pride themselves on their delicious food and their friendly customer service. “We decided to combine our expertise and run a business we would both enjoy. We make time to go and talk to all our customers. We find our customers don’t just come to eat but to enjoy a chat with us as well.” The licensed café is open seven days a week for breakfast and lunch and Thursday and Friday nights for dinner, with both menu and cabinet food options. 5-7pm is ‘happy hour’, with $6 wines and $7 beers. Popular dinner dishes include pan-fried snapper ($23.50), scotch fillet steak ($25.50) and bangers and mash ($16.50).

Up Café also does catering for a lot of central city businesses and out-caters to other areas as well, particularly for private functions. It also does private functions in the café itself, for up to 50 people. All the food is made on site. Aaron says the City Rail Link (CRL) project is exciting for Auckland: “We like that it will bring a lot more people into the city centre and provide growth for its businesses.” Access is maintained to all businesses along the CRL project route. Please continue to support them through the construction period. 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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Albert Street tunnels start soon A smaller TBM has also been travelling under the Albert and Victoria Street intersection, creating a diversion for the Orakei Main Sewer flow, to enable the original sewer to be strengthened ahead of the CRL’s mid-town station construction. CRL Project Director, Chris Meale, said building this major civil infrastructure project in a busy downtown location, hasn’t been without its challenges and impacts on the community, which we are conscious of. “It’s been a real feat of engineering completing the works in an environment filled with a large number of underground services - some of which date back over 100 years and for which little to no records exist - all the while maintaining vehicle access around the site, albeit under restricted conditions,” he said. “Moving now to the excavation stage is an exciting time for the project and takes us a step further in the construction of the CRL for Auckland.”

The CRL project has just reached another milestone, with the last of 362 piles dug on Albert Street, between Customs Street and Wyndham Street. The nine-storey-high piling rig drilled each pile to a depth of 20 metres and filled with reinforced concrete, which will support the trench walls within which the CRL twin tunnels will be constructed. Concrete capping beams are now being placed on top of the piles to tie them together. Steel beams will then span the width of the trench to brace the piles. This marks the start of construction of the ‘cut and cover’ tunnels across Customs Street and up Albert Street to Wyndham Street. The cut and cover methodology is being used in this part of the project due to the geology, shallow position of the tunnel and proximity of

underground utilities. It involves the excavation of a deep trench between the rows of piles and construction of the tunnel structure (essentially a concrete box), after which the trench will be backfilled and the road reinstated. This work is due to be completed in late 2018. Last week, the tunnel boring machine (TBM) simultaneously excavating and installing a new stormwater main 18 metres under Albert Street, finished its 500-metre journey between Swanson and Wellesley Streets. Now located 10 metres east of its original alignment, the new stormwater pipe will allow the CRL tunnels to be constructed under Albert Street without interference to the stormwater system, while also helping to future-proof Auckland’s stormwater capacity.

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Strong international interest in CRL construction The CRL has attracted strong international interest in the contract for building the project’s tunnels and stations. Ten companies from Europe, China, Australia and New Zealand have participated in the prequalification phase of the contract and eight have been approved to move to the next phase which is the expression of interest. Project director Chris Meale says it is great to see such a wide range of positive interest in delivering the project for Auckland. “We had hundreds of people attend an industry briefing late last year and it is rewarding to see that investment paying off for us in the quality

and breadth of experience that the bidders are bringing to the process,” he says. “We are competing with other major infrastructure projects worldwide and it is important to attract enough interest for a competitive process that will ensure Auckland gets value for money.” Expressions of interest for the tunnel and station work will be released shortly, then evaluated, and in around October, two will be shortlisted for the tender phase. “The tender process, for a project as complex as CRL, will take several months. Tenders will then be evaluated before the contractor is selected next year,” says Mr Meale.

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CRL project opens up huge employment opportunities

CRL given another top sustainability rating

Construction of the CRL – New Zealand’s biggest infrastructure project - will require about 1600 people at its peak. This could include opportunities for hundreds of workers who are new to the workforce or not currently employed. Auckland Mayor Phil Goff says this is great news for Aucklanders currently not in employment. “Construction on the CRL is ramping up. We’re going to need a wide range of skills and that means fantastic job opportunities opening up,” he says.

The rating is for the design and construction planning of Contract 1 – the work through and under Britomart Station and Lower Queen Street to the former Downtown Shopping Centre site. A Downer Soletanche-Bachy joint venture is the delivery partner for this contract. This is only the second “Leading” rating awarded in New Zealand, the first also went to the CRL for the design and construction planning (with Connectus) of Contract 2 – the Albert Street tunnels and a new stormwater main under Albert Street. In awarding the Contract 1 Design rating, ISCA considered project performance across six themes: Management & Governance; Using Resources; Emissions, Pollution & Waste; Ecology; People & Place; and Innovation.

The project estimates that at peak 600 general construction workers will be needed as well as those with more specialised skills. Labour requirements will vary with opportunities for new entrants to the workforce as well as the need for skilled labour and trades, including plumbers and electricians and those involved in specialist rail systems and signalling.

Britomart works continue

Collecting the award are (from left) Dale Burtenshaw, Project Director, Downer and Soletanche Bachy Joint Venture, Liz Root, CRL Principal Sustainability Advisor and CRL Project Director Chris Meale, with Antony Sprigg, CEO ISCA.

The CRL has been awarded a “Leading” Infrastructure Sustainability (IS) Design rating by the Infrastructure Sustainability Council of Australia (ISCA), the highest possible achievement in the IS scheme.

“The boom in construction in the city has created a critical skill shortage in a number of areas and the CRL will provide opportunities for people to find jobs, get trained and develop career pathways.”

A number of works are taking place in and around Britomart Station at present.

ISCA noted several highlights for Contract 1: • The CRL’s initiative collaborating with Mana Whenua to embed Ma-ori cultural values across the IS framework: a first globally • Water-efficient fittings specified for the refurbished Britomart station are projected to reduce water usage by more than 50%, with associated reductions in utility bills • A projected reduction in energy-related greenhouse gas emissions by over 25% through efficient construction techniques, including replacing diesel generators with grid electricity, and the specification of energy-efficient equipment for the refurbished station • Reducing waste by recycling items such as the uPVC piping from the station plaza water feature, and carefully removing the bluestone feature wall tiles for reinstatement once the tunnels are completed • The protection and enhancement of the Category 1 heritage-listed station building.

Heritage protection works inside Britomart’s Chief Post Office (CPO) building, including the shrinkwrapping of the ceiling, columns and arched windows, are now complete. The dismantling of the CPO interior continues, with contractors Downer Soletanche-Bachy Joint Venture removing the floor and redundant staircases.

Outside, within the hoardings on Galway Street, contractors are constructing a service trench that allows re-routing of existing underground utility services ahead of the CRL tunnel extensions. Three new streetlights are also being installed along Galway Street this week to provide additional lighting for pedestrians. The CPO building is closed until 2019 to enable construction of the CRL tunnels.

A mini-piling rig is working in the basement of the CPO to provide additional support to the existing foundations ahead of tunnel excavation works. Preparation works are underway for the removal of the glass bridge connecting the CPO building to the temporary station entrance. Polystyrene blocks are being used to fill in the old lift pits and these blocks will be concreted over this week. The glass floor and side panels and handrails will be stored for re-use at a later date.

A new streetlight is installed

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