Wednesday, 22 December 2021
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What a way to send off 2021, with the arrival of the TBM at Aotea Station! After the breakthrough moment this morning, crew from the TBM and our Aotea Station team came together and celebrated the many different countries we all represent.
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Kia ora ,
Kia mataara! Be alert and observe! TBM breakthrough at Aotea Station!
Today a monumental milestone was achieved in the construction of the City Rail Link tunnels as the Dame Whina Cooper tunnel boring machine (TBM) broke through into the Aotea Station construction site!
Dame Whina Cooper broke through at the southern end of our construction site, 15 metres below Mayoral Drive, after starting its underground journey from Mt Eden in May 2021. The Dame Whina Cooper TBM's journey took seven months to complete; 1.6 kilometres of tunnel completed between Mt Eden Station and Aotea Station, that's 1051 segment rings installed and 147,000 tonnes of spoil removed.
Our working hours over the break
Our last day of work this year will be tomorrow Thursday, 23 December, where our crews will have a well deserved two-week break before we come back to site on Wednesday, 5 January.
Our team is busy preparing the site for the shutdown by securing plant, cleaning work areas, and ensuring footpaths are clear around site.
During the break we have our security guards on site 24/7, and regular checks to ensure the site remains secure. If you see anything of concern around site please contact 111 if it is an emergency; or you can contact us on 0800 CRL TALK (0800 275 8255 and press option 3) which will direct you to our security team.
We’d like to thank the Aotea community in midtown for their patience and understanding during a tough year for all. We hope that everyone has an enjoyable and restorative festive season and we will see you in the new year.
Ngā mihi nui,
The Aotea Station team
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TBM breakthrough into Aotea Station
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Today's TBM breakthrough marks the completion of the first of two City Rail Link bored tunnels!
To mark this milestone, Mayor of Auckland Phil Goff, Transport Minister Michael Wood, joined CRL CEO Sean Sweeney and Link Alliance crew to watch the TBM breakthrough into Aotea Station.
Once the TBM had completed the breakthrough, a ceremonial gift was passed from the TBM crew to the Aotea Station construction team -- a hardhat painted in the likeness of Dame Whina Cooper. This special hat represents the Link Alliance's first objective: to achieve industry-leading standard in health, safety, and wellbeing. Dame Whina Cooper, the TBMs namesake, is credited with guiding the TBM and its crew to a safe arrival at Aotea.
Once we come back to site after the Christmas break we will begin disassembling the TBM cutterhead and shield (front section) -- they will then be trucked backed to Mt Eden Station while the support gantries will move back through the tunnels. At Mt Eden, the TBM will be reassembled to begin the second tunnel in early 2022.
To follow the TBM's progress visit www.digCRL.co.nz
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The hardhat painted in the likeness of Dame Whina Cooper being passed from the tunnel team to our Aotea Station team.
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Mayor Phil Goff and Minister Michael Wood joined us for the TBM breakthrough at Aotea Station this morning.
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Aotea Station milestones - all complete for 2021!
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2021 has been a huge year in many ways! Incredibly, the station team and our crews have managed to tick off all of 2021's planned milestones even with an unexpected lockdown!
We've wrapped up the year below with some great photos showing this progress.
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Matt Sinclair, Aotea Station Manager, ticks off the final milestone successfully completed for the year.
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Q1 - Utilities upgrades and relocations reach half-way completion point
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Utilities include communications (Chorus, Vodafone), power (Vector), and water, stormwater, and waste water networks. These must be moved out of where the station box is built.
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Q2 - Underground excavation begins - April
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Since April we have removed approx. 45,000 cubic metres of spoil! We have made it all the way down to platform level (15m below surface) at Mayoral Drive and near Wyndham Street.
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Q2 - Bluestone wall deconstruction complete - March
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Each block from the Bluestone wall was numbered and catalogued prior to removal so that it can be restored after station construction.
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The bluestone wall had to be carefully removed to allow for the new station walls, and will be restored just metres from its original location.
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Q3 - Wellesley St reopened to traffic and Victoria St / Albert St intersection closed to traffic - June
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Wellesley St reopening to vehicles marked a major milestone for the project with the completion of utility relocations and station works at the intersection allowing works to continue underground.
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Q3 - Victoria St / Albert St utilities upgrades and relocations begun - July
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Victoria Street contained a very complex network of utilities services, all running beneath the ground that needed to be shifted out of the way of the station construction.
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Q3 - Above-ground construction of Wellesley superstructure (entrance building) begins - July
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Since July we now completed the first floor and have made great progress installing the second floor columns, beams, and flooring.
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Q3 - Station concourse level construction begun - July
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The concourse level is now constructed from Mayoral Drive to Wellesley Street (pictured), with concourse construction also underway beneath Albert Street between Victoria Street and Kingston Street.
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Q3 - Conclusion of bored pile foundation construction - October
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These piles form the station walls and allow excavation to take place beneath Auckland's busy midtown streets. We have now completed over 400 bored piles across the site! Worker for scale.
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Q4 - Conclusion of diaphragm wall foundation construction - December
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Sandrine, our hydrofraise machine, constructed approx. 140 diaphragm walls across the Aotea Station site.
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On average it took 23 concrete trucks to complete a diaphragm wall pour!
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Q4 - Breakthrough into existing Albert Street tunnels from Britomart - December
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Work will now continue to extend the tunnel boxes, and begin to install track and rail systems in the completed tunnels.
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Dr Sean Sweeney (CEO, CRL Ltd) and Francois Dudouit (Project Director, Link Alliance) joined a small ceremony marking the breakthrough.
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Q4 - Installation of mechanical, electrical, fire and hydraulic systems begins - December
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Francois Dudouit (Project Director, Link Alliance) and Dr Sean Sweeney (CEO, CRL Ltd) standing in the completed Britomart tunnel boxes, the tunnels team are now preparing the fitout works in the tunnels.
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Q4 - Tunnel boring machine breaks through into Mayoral Drive (first tunnel) - December
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Dame Whina Cooper, our TBM, completed her first journey with 1.6km of tunnel created between Mt Eden Station through to Aotea Station (via Karangahape Station). Next year she tackles the second (and last) tunnel!
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