Kia ora <<First Name>>,

We hope you are all doing okay in your bubbles. It hasn't been an easy week for the Tāmaki Makaurau / Auckland community. 

While construction has been paused during Alert Level 4 with our crews staying home with their whānau (with the exception of daily safety and security checks), our team has been preparing to safely resume activities again on site at Alert Level 3. We will keep you updated once we have a confirmed re-start day. 

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

Support available during the lockdown

Lockdowns can be tough. If you ever want to reach out our team are here, even just for a chat. We have also pulled together some helpful links to additional support packages and resources that may be helpful.

• Covid19.govt.nz - Comprehensive official information about support available to businesses and individuals. 
• sosbusiness.nz - Support local businesses by spending money now on vouchers that can be redeemed instore at lower alert levels. Businesses can register for free and already a number of our local businesses are online.
• Free Covid-19 collateral - Do you need posters, floor decals, or other printing? Free collateral is available here for businesses, communities, and events.
• Heart of the City have pulled together a vast amount of information about different support packages available to businesses.
• Link Alliance's Small Business Support Programme continues.

Community Liaison Group online meeting

Our August 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 for the minutes, presentations, and a video recording of the event.

• Recording of the event - the video file is quite large so it may take some time to load, or you can download it.
• Meeting presentation
• Meeting minutes

Targeted Hardship Fund announcement

On 3 September 2021, the City Rail Link sponsors – Auckland Council and the New Zealand Government – announced the creation of a Targeted Hardship Fund to provide financial support for small businesses suffering hardship due to sustained and prolonged disruption caused by project construction.

A webpage has been setup on the City Rail Link website, which will be updated with more information. In the meantime, businesses are able register their interest for information on the scheme and how to apply by emailing C3hardship@cityraillink.govt.nz

Please note the hardship fund will be administered by City Rail Link Limited (CRLL), not Link Alliance. The hardship fund is also separate from the Link Alliance Small Business Support Programme, which will continue to operate as an additional support resource for small businesses.

Pre-lockdown progress at Aotea Station

Here is a quick breakdown about what we were working on before lockdown.

South Zone - Mayoral Drive area

• Excavation of the tunnel boring machine (TBM) opening portal continues (this is where the head of the TBM will be removed at the end of this year).
• Construction of the first floor of the station superstructure (above-ground station entrance building) has begun.
• Excavation of concourse level (B1) continues with concrete slab construction well underway.

Central Zone - Albert Street from Wellesley to Victoria

• Work on the diaphragm walls (D-walls) was completed near Crowne Plaza Hotel.
• Underground excavation of the concourse level of the station platform continues.
• Roof slab construction progresses outside the AA Centre. 

Victoria Street Zone

• Utilities upgrade and relocation on Victoria Street is well underway, including a successful large watermain diversion. 
• Station construction is ready to begin at the Victoria Street intersection with piling and guide wall construction just begun.
• Our information centre, Te Pūkaki, arrived near Elliott Street and will open once it is safe to do so. 

North Zone - Albert Street from Victoria to Wyndham

• Roof slab construction continues north towards Kingston Street.
• Work to widen the road from the corner of Durham and Albert slip lane, up to the Finance Centre Wilson Carpark, was almost complete.
• Underground excavation of the tunnels near Wyndham Street was almost ready to 'break through' into the completed tunnels coming up from Britomart. This is an exciting upcoming milestone that we'll keep you posted on once we are back on site!

Jargon Buster: Service Pillars

Have you ever been at home during a storm and your power stops working and a little while later comes back on; but crews are still working to repair the original fault just a few houses down?

That's in part thanks to service pillars.

Service pillars are a key part of our internet and power networks as they allow service providers to reroute power or internet through different junctions. This means they can more accurately isolate faults and ensure as many people get their services back up and running while they complete the repairs.