Kia ora ,

With the recent Omicron wave in Auckland now behind us and a subsequent move to the Orange traffic light setting, the Aotea Station site has mostly returned to full strength. 

This month, CRL Ltd CEO Sean Sweeney wrote about our sites looking more like zombie movies than construction zones! Confused? Read his comments here. 

As always, to contact us you can email us at: aotea@linkalliance.co.nz or call 0800 CRL TALK (0800 275 8255 and press option 3) to speak to us. 

Supporting our neighbours in midtown

Building an underground train station in the middle of a city is challenging, but for the Aotea Station team being a good neighbour is just as important as our construction. Watch our new video to find out more about the ways we minimise our impact and contribute to the surrounding community. 

Good Neighbour Awards

We regularly recognise our team members for being good neighbours, especially when they go that extra mile to make a positive difference. This month, "Good Neighbour" awards were given to four teams who each received vouchers to Tony's Steakhouse on Wellesley Street. These teams are responsible for tasks such as graffiti cleaning, pedestrian walkway management, and site lighting. Here one of our site electricians Murray receives an award on behalf of his team. 

She's on her way - the TBM has re-launched

The Dame Whina Cooper Tunnel Boring Machine was launched earlier this week from 110 metres within a mined tunnel at Mt Eden, on its way to us at Aotea Station via  Karangahape Station. This is the second and final bored tunnel of the City Rail Link. The TBM will reach midtown beneath Mayoral Drive sometime in the spring. Every day, the machine will remove about 1500 tonnes of spoil, and can travel up to 32 metres a day. But the TBM is not just excavating the tunnel and removing spoil - it is also installing concrete segments to line the tunnel. Find out more and follow the TBM's progress at DigCRL.co.nz

Aotea Station construction progress

South Zone - Mayoral Drive area

• Above-ground we have almost completed the columns and floors of the third level of the super-structure (Wellesley St entrance building). The final level columns are also now up and being prepared for concrete pours. 
• Underground, excavation continues below the completed B1 concourse level slabs down to the B3 platform levels, with a large base level concrete slab completed this week. 
• Preparations are already underway for the station to receive the TBM in the spring of this year. Unlike the first tunnel drive when only the front section of the TBM was lifted out, for the second drive the entire 130m TBM will be lifted out at Aotea Station. 

Central Zone - Albert Street from Wellesley to Victoria

• The final section of the old Albert Street retaining wall (above the lower service lane) has now been demolished, with the station upstand wall and roof construction now able to begin. 
• Works are also scheduled to construct the final roof sections on the western side of Albert Street, outside AA and Manhattan Apartments. 
• Below ground, excavation toward Victoria Street is now well underway with B1 concourse level reinforcing and concreting. 

Victoria Street Zone (from Federal to Elliott)

• Construction of the station roof panels has progressed well. We recently completed a mammoth 307 cubic metre concrete pour, right in the middle of the Victoria/Albert intersection. 
• Take a look at the "before" and "after" photos below, taken just a day apart. The first photo shows the reinforcing steel being carefully tied into place, with the second photo showing a concrete job well done!
• The completion of the roof structures will now allow underground excavation to commence. 
• Other works include a watermain relocation across the newly constructed station roof, and some concrete break-back works as we move to begin construction of the Victoria Street station entrances.

North Zone - Albert Street from Victoria to Wyndham

• Work to extend the running tunnels continues to progress south from Wyndham Street. This includes formwork and steel reinforcing for base slabs and walls, followed by concrete pours.
• We are also now continuing the construction of the roof of the running tunnels in this area
• A key focus of the team's work here is connecting into the existing running tunnels from Britomart Station, linking into the Aotea Station concourse and platform structure. 

Safety comes first!

Safety comes first at the Link Alliance, and this includes regular training and drills. At Aotea Station, our Emergency Response Team (ERT) conducted a drill this month, which involved raising a heavy scissor lift using an airbag system. This rescue technique may be employed should a crew member become trapped beneath and where other lifting methods such as cranage may not be immediately available. Watch part of the training exercise below. 

Support Local & Win at Aotea Station

A reminder that our Support Local & Win competition continues! Spend $5 or more at a participating business to go into a monthly draw to win $100 to spend at a local midtown business. The more times you shop at participating businesses, the more chances you have to win. The Grand Prize is an underground tour of Aotea Station for you and a friend. 
  
Grab your entry form and find out more by coming on down to midtown! Entries have been popular at one of our neighbours, Little Albert Coffee at 83 Albert St. 

Updates on neighbouring projects

Te Hā Noa exploratory works begin in May

To help in our planning for stage one of Te Hā Noa, exploratory works to locate underground services between Elliott Street and Kitchener Street will now start in May.  
 
These works involve some excavation in the road and footpath. Traffic management and wayfinding for pedestrians will be in place. Access to properties will be maintained. You may have seen already the markings on the road and footpaths where work will take place. These works will last approximately two months. 

Check ProgressAKL for updates or contact JFC’s Stakeholder Manager Cherie Armer on 021 420 108 or Cherie.armer@jfcltd.co.nz  

Short and Sweet