CRL Connection
August 2018
Mercury Lane entrance of Karangahape Station
Government and Council approve extra CRL works City Rail Link (CRL) sponsors – New Zealand Government and the Auckland Council – have agreed to increase their investment in the project to cater for larger-than-expected growth in rail patronage across Auckland. New rail transport growth statistics suggest that by 2035, CRL stations will need to cope with 54,000 passengers an hour at peak travel times, rather than the original estimate of 36,000. The new agreement means the tendering process for the project’s main stations and tunnels contract can now incorporate longer platform tunnels at Karangahape Station to cater for nine-car trains (instead of six), a second Karangahape Station entrance at Beresford Square and additional station work at Britomart, Aotea and Mt Eden stations.
50 per cent more passenger capacity up-front for a relatively small increase in project cost. Having to retrofit the network’s stations and tunnels at a later date would not only cost a lot more in the long-run but require extremely disruptive station closures on the network within a few years of the CRL opening,” he says. The additional works are not expected to delay the CRL opening in 2024. Japanese
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CRL chief executive Sean Sweeney says the announcement is great news for the project and for Auckland.
Korean
“We’re really pleased that we’ll now be able to provide
ةرشنلا اذه مهف يف ةدعاسم ىلإ ةجاحب تنك اذإ، هاندأ ينورتكلإلا ديربلا ناونع ربع انب لاصتالا ىجري.
본 자료표에 관한 더 많은 정보를 원하시면 하단의 이메일 주소로 연락 주시기 바랍니다.
Arabic
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Britomart tunnel excavation begins CRL has started excavating the 14-metre-deep trench that will contain the project’s twin rail tunnels under Britomart Station and Lower Queen Street in downtown Auckland. This follows almost two years of careful preparation work to protect Britomart Station’s historic Chief Post Office (CPO) building and support the ground before the trenching and tunnel construction begin. CRL contractor Downer-Soletanche Bachy Joint Venture (DSBJV) – which has just celebrated its second anniversary of working on the CRL – has removed an initial five-metre layer of ground from Lower Queen Street. This will lower the ground level sufficiently to allow excavators to dig under the CPO building from Lower Queen Street.
Above: CRL chief executive Sean Sweeney (right) oversees the start of trench excavation on Lower Queen Street with DBSJV project director Dale Burtenshaw
A single 25-metre-wide trench will be excavated in Lower Queen Street and two 10-metre-wide City Rail Link Limited’s Chief Executive Officer, Sean trenches under the CPO (the two future CRL platforms Sweeney, says: “The start of trench excavation on will be located on the far sides of the station). Lower Queen Street marks a significant point in the construction process. It takes us a step closer to CRL tunnel box construction is expected to start at building the CRL rail tunnels at Britomart Station and this location at the end of this year and be completed connecting them with the tunnels being built within in mid-2019. After this time, the trench will be the Commercial Bay development.” backfilled, Lower Queen Street re-instated and the CPO rebuilt with basement and ground floor levels. Click here for more
Excavation exposes old building foundations Recent excavation work has exposed the existing foundations of Britomart’s 106-year-old CPO building.
Records are being taken for heritage and posterity reasons before the old foundations are removed and the excavation progresses deeper underground. The CPO building is now being supported by a new underpinning structure on new foundations.
The original foundations under Britomart Station’s historic Chief Post Office building
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Customs Street tunnel excavation underway
Excavations under the concrete bridge deck over the Customs St intersection
Thanks to a concrete bridge deck constructed over the Customs/Albert Street intersection last year, motorists and pedestrians can continue to move across it while CRL contractor Connectus JV excavates underneath. Last month, an initial five-metre-deep excavation was made across the entire intersection to expose the piled wall to the neighbouring Commercial Bay
development site. Over the next few months, the excavation will continue to about 13 metres in depth, after which breakthrough will be made to the CRL tunnels being built at Commercial Bay. Construction of the tunnel structure is expected to start later this year and a full connection made between the two construction sites by autumn 2019.
Load transfer of historic CPO building continues The weight of Britomart’s historic Chief Post Office (CPO) building is being gradually transferred onto a series of underpinning frames. Pressurised hydraulic jacks lift the building by a maximum of 2mm on to a series of steel and posttensioned concrete beams. These will protect the Category-1 listed heritage building from damage while CRL infrastructure is built underneath. The load transfer of the CPO’s western (front) façade was completed this week and the remainder of the building is expected to be transferred onto the underpinning frames by early September. Underpinning frames supporting the weight of Britomart Station’s CPO building
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Jeffie arrives on site at Mt Eden ‘Jeffie’, the mini tunnel boring machine that will pipejack a replacement stormwater line at Mt Eden ahead of CRL tunnelling works, has arrived in Auckland. A German-built Herrenknecht AVN machine, Jeffie was sent to New Zealand from her base in Toulouse, France. Her somewhat unusual name came via a hugely popular CRL Facebook naming contest. The most popular name was Jeff (from the famous line “My name is Jeff” of 22 Jump Street movie fame) but traditionally female names are adopted for machinery, so Jeffie was chosen. Naming digging equipment after women is said to be a tradition that dates back to the 1500s when miners prayed to Saint Barbara to keep them safe underground. Saint Barbara is the patron saint of armourers, artillerymen, military engineers, miners and others who work with explosives because her legend associated her with lightning. In October, Jeffie is expected to start work, simultaneously excavating and laying a replacement 400-metre section of stormwater pipe between Water Street and the Ruru Street. The existing stormwater main lies in the way of the future CRL tunnels at Mt Eden.
‘Jeffie’ the mini tunnel boring machine arrives on site at Mt Eden Road
Click here for more on Jeffie and her upcoming work
Check out the latest project information online CRL’s website is full of great project information, videos and photos to keep you up to date on progress. Visit www.cityraillink.co.nz
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CRL ‘waka train’ heads to Mt Eden
The latest CRL hoardings have been installed in Mt Eden. If you’re on a Western Line train between Grafton and Mt Eden, take a little peak out of the window. The design - ‘Te Waka Tūhono’ - represents the connection of traditional knowledge with today’s technology, the sharing of stories that have influenced design and the journey that has resulted. Click here to find out more
Piling works begin at Water Street Piling works have begun at the end of Water Street ahead of CRL’s Mt Eden stormwater realignment works. Contractor March Bessac Joint Venture (MBJV) is installing 89 piles to support the ground before it starts construction of the 17-metre-deep shaft that will launch Jeffie on her pipe-jacking mission. Work on the Water Street shaft is expected to begin later this month, with all piling works completed in early September. In addition to the stormwater realignment, pollutant traps are being installed at Boston and Normandy Roads as part of the stormwater network improvements for Auckland. They will capture large and nonbiodegradable waste such as litter and coarse sediment to prevent it reaching waterways.
Right: Installation of the first 18m-deep pile at Water St
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Latest archaeological finds Four new archaeological artefacts have been found by CRL contractors during excavations under Britomart’s Chief Post Office building and Lower Queen Street. The items include an embossed Lea & Perrins condiment bottle, a Champion’s Vinegar bottle and two ‘champagne style’ bottles – all from the mid-1800s. Lea & Perrins Worchestershire Sauce began to be commercially manufactured in 1837 as a condiment to make meats more palatable. The product was being advertised in New Zealand newspapers by the early 1860s but is thought to have been introduced into New Zealand in 1852. Lea & Perrins was a regular item on shipping import lists and is commonly found on historic 19th and 20th century sites across the country. Champion’s Vinegar was produced by Champion & Co in London from 1705 through to 1929. Based on the manufacturing technique of the bottle, it is estimated to date from the mid to late 1800s. Champagne-style bottles are one of the more common alcoholic beverage bottles recovered from mid-19th to early 20th century historic sites around the world. This style was used for both champagne as well as sparkling wine and beer. The bottle is very similar to the Burgundy style wine bottle but is thicker and wider at the base to withstand the pressure of carbonated liquids. Read more about our archaeological finds Above: Champion’s Vinegar bottle and Lea & Perrins condiment bottle found beneath Britomart
Pedestrian bridges offer great view of tunnel progress Anyone wanting to see CRL’s Albert Street tunnels taking shape can get a great view from the project’s Wyndham Street pedestrian bridge. Anyone crossing Albert Street at this location is treated to a view 18 metres down into the CRL trench, where the tunnel boxes are being constructed by contractor Connectus Joint Venture. To date, 108 metres of tunnel box wall and 156 metres of floor have been completed and Connectus has now started building the first sections of roof. Click here to watch drone footage of the Albert Street tunnel works.
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