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Father Chris Denham, Dean of the Auckland Catholic Cathedral, attended and blessed the TBM breakthrough area beneath Mayoral Drive as part of Saint Barbara Day on Saturday, 4 December.
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Kia ora ,
The Day of Saint Barbara (Patron Saint of Miners and Tunnelers) was celebrated on Saturday, 4 December. As is traditional, a Catholic Priest - Father Chris Denham from the Auckland Cathedral - blessed the underground TBM breakthrough area beneath Mayoral Drive.
While we continue to make good progress across all areas of the station - both above and below ground - it has been wonderful seeing the vibrancy of Auckland's communities coming back into the city centre as we shift out of lockdown and into the new traffic light framework.
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.
Ngā mihi nui,
The Aotea Station team
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Breakthroughs at both ends of Aotea Station
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Breakthrough complete to tunnels running from Britomart
15m below the corner of Albert and Wyndham Streets in the northern part of the station, we have now fully removed the 300mm-thick plug wall at the end of the completed section of twin tunnels running from Britomart.
This breakthrough allows us to begin the process of connecting the Aotea Station structure to these existing tunnels that were completed in early 2020.
Joining the tunnels with the station clears the way for a new stage of work – fitting out the tunnels and getting them ready for the installation of rail track and rail systems such as signals and communications.
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Dr Sean Sweeney (CEO, CRL Ltd) and Francois Dudouit (Project Director, Link Alliance) joined a small ceremony marking the breakthrough into the completed tunnel boxes that run beneath Albert Street to Britomart.
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To mark the occasion Mr Dudouit linked the first piece of steel bar from the Aotea Station structure into the existing tunnel structure.
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Scott Elwarth (left) from the C2 project (completed tunnels), and Francois Dudouit from the Link Alliance.
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Upcoming Dame Whina Cooper TBM Breakthrough
The Link Alliance TBM, Dame Whina Cooper, has been making solid progress under Vincent Street as she makes her way down to Mayoral Drive - the southern part of Aotea Station. Follow the TBM's journey at DigCRL.co.nz
This breakthrough marks a massive milestone for the City Rail Link project as it sees the first of the two tunnels fully complete from Mt Eden Station, through the new Karangahape Station, down to Aotea Station. That's a total tunnel length of almost 2km!
Once at Aotea, the TBM cutterhead (front section) will be craned out and trucked back to Mt Eden Station, while the supporting gantry is pulled back through the completed tunnel box. The TBM will then be reassembled and prepared to complete the second tunnel excavation in 2022.
The TBM is expected to arrive at Aotea Station by the end of January.
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You can keep up to date with the TBM's current progress at DigCRL.co.nz
Image credit: City Rail Link
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A render of the upcoming breakthrough at Aotea Station showing how the cutterhead will be pulled into the station.
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The TBM cutterhead following the Karangahape Station breakthrough in October.
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Community engagement activity
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Community Liaison Group Meeting
Our November CLG meeting was held online via Microsoft Teams, due to the Covid-19 lockdown. We want to thank everyone who joined us for this online event and we hope to be able to see you all in person at the next one!
Follow the links below to hear from in more detail from our team about the works that have taken place this year at Aotea Station!
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Quarterly communication feedback survey
Thank you to everyone who completed the last of our quarterly communication surveys of the year! We appreciate all the feedback you provided which helps us improve how we engage with the community.
This quarter our overall satisfaction rating improved and we are grateful for the positive feedback. The survey also generated some focus areas for us as we head into the new year:
- Continue to implement new tools to support community members with limited English
- Continue to improve site wayfinding
- Ensure consistency and regularity of communication
Congratulations also to Colm from The Fiddler Irish Bar on Victoria Street who won this quarter's $100 voucher!
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Aotea Station works progress
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South Zone - Mayoral Drive area
- Work at the TBM portal continues as we prepare to welcome Dame Whina Cooper (TBM) to Aotea Station as she completes her first tunnel run!
- Above ground we have almost completed the column and floors of the second level of the super-structure (Wellesley St entrance building). Steel reinforcing and concrete pours for the second floor columns continues.
- Excavation also continues beneath the completed B1 concourse level slabs down to the B2 platform and B3 track levels.
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The TBM portal is almost ready for the breakthrough of the TBM, Dame Whina Cooper. Metal rings are to be installed to allow the TBM to pull itself clear of the wall.
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Construction of the block walls on the concourse level have begun. Soon internal walls will be installed creating the back rooms of the station.
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The super structure is making its way upwards with installation of the level 2 columns and beams.
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Central Zone - Albert Street from Wellesley to Victoria
- Following demolition of the old retaining wall in this area, and exposure of the station d-wall (Diaphragm wall) foundations, the construction team have been building up the upstand (station box) wall near the Crowne Plaza Hotel on Albert Street.
- Following construction of the upstand wall, the roof slabs in this section will be built, which will allow for station excavation and underground works to continue towards Victoria Street.
- We made an exciting discovery on site during demolition works, as we uncovered the remains of the old Albert Street fire bell tower foundations. These kauri fragments have been documented, carefully removed, and cleaned ready to head to their new home at a local museum.
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Roof slab construction following the construction of the new upstand wall. Underground excavation to follow in the new year.
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The reinforced steel upstand wall construction outside Crowne Plaza Hotel on Albert Street.
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The uncovered concrete support and kauri timber strut for the old Albert Street fire bell tower during demolition and removal of the old retaining wall.
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A piece of the kauri foundation strut for the old Albert Street fire bell tower after cleaning - ready to go to a museum for future display.
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Victoria Street Zone - from Federal to Elliott
- We are now focused on completing the final few diaphragm walls at Victoria Street -- this major milestone will mark the completion of all foundations work (bored piles and diaphragm walls) across the entire Aotea Station project.
- Utilities upgrade and relocation on Victoria Street is now complete for the year, with further utility work programmed as station construction continues.
- Construction of temporary support piles on the corners of Albert Street and Victoria Street intersection start this week to prepare for station roof construction.
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Our clamshell grab-rig excavates through the clay surface to the deeper layers beneath where Sandrine, our hydrofraise rig, begins her work to build diaphragm walls.
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Our hydrofraise rig (named Sandrine), with its support crane, in action on Victoria Street building underground diaphragm walls.
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North Zone - Albert Street from Victoria to Wyndham
- The demolition of the Britomart tunnel plug wall is complete! Work will now begin to build out the Aotea Station structure from the existing tunnel box base slab, walls, and roof.
- Our tunnel fit-out team are now on site completing preparatory works within the tunnels, including ventilation installation and material deliveries.
- Construction of the concourse level continues with formwork and concrete pours ongoing beneath Albert Street.
- Excavation of the concourse level has now begun heading under Kingston Street, beneath the already constructed roof panels.
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Krystyna Penkala, Aotea Station Site Engineer, ticking off the Breakthrough into existing Albert Street tunnels from Britomart on the Milestone Tracker.
Click on the image to see the full Milestone Tracker and what is coming up next year!
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Excavation is continuing beneath Albert Street between Wyndham and Victoria Street.
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Underground excavation around a manhole shaft by Victoria Street.
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Jargon Buster: HIABs and Mobile Cranes
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HIAB is an abbreviation of Hydrauliska Industri AB, the Swedish company who first utilised truck engines to power loader-cranes using hydraulics. These trucks are designed to carry heavy loads (like construction material or shipping containers) and have a built-in loader-crane system to easily and quickly load and unload the truck.
A mobile crane on the other hand has a telescopic boom crane mounted on a specialized truck -- this means it can travel along normal roads, be shifted around site to where it's needed most, and is easy to set up and demobilise. Unlike HIABs, mobile cranes do not transport loads on the truck but are instead cranes that can be moved under their own power.
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