|
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern with members of the Mined Tunnels team at Karanga-a-Hape Station earlier this month.
|
|
Kia Ora
This month saw the project reach its biggest milestone to date, with our Dame Whina Cooper Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM) breaking through to Te Waihorotiu Station (Aotea). This marked the end of the TBM’s second and final drive for the project and with it both tunnels having been fully bored from Maungawhau / Mount Eden Station to Te Waihorotiu.
As we wave farewell to the TBM, a new phase of beckons in both bored tunnels and across all of the stations.
Earlier this month, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Transport Minister Michael Wood paid our construction sites a visit to see the progress made so far by our hard working teams. The Prime Minister stopped to talk to several team members across our sites, as well as the group shot with some of the Mined Tunnels team here at Karanga-a-Hape Station.
Also this month CRL Ltd's CEO Sean Sweeney provided some more information about duration and costs of the project - click here to read the information in full.
It was great to see some of our neighbours attend our latest Community Liaison Group meeting, held at The Auckland Methodist Church this week. Please keep an eye out for the presentation and minutes that will be made available on our website shortly.
As always, please don’t hesitate to contact us via email at Karangahape@linkalliance.co.nz or call us on 0800 CRL TALK (275 8255) and press option 4 with any questions or concerns you have.
If you live or work next to or near one of our sites at Beresford Square or Mercury Lane and would like to receive weekly updates on the work taking place, please send us your email and we will add you to the distribution list.
Ngā mihi,
The Karanga-a-Hape Station team
|
|
|
Grayson Canton, TBM Foreman, acknowledging those at Te Waihorotiu who witnessed the breakthrough.
|
|
Dame Whina Cooper reaches her final stop
On 14 September, our Dame Whina Cooper Tunnel Boring Machine broke through into Te Waihorotiu Station for the second time; her final breakthrough for the project.
On the TBM’s journey to bore the two tunnels, the mega-machine travelled over 3.2 kilometres, placed 2,118 segment rings and removed over 260,000 tonnes of spoil. About 64,200 cubic metres of concrete was used to build the City Rail Link tunnels, that’s about 25 Olympic sized swimming pools.
This was an historic moment for the project and, after three previous breakthroughs (two at Karanga-a-Hape and one at Te Waihorotiu), marks the biggest milestone to date.
The TBM cutterhead will be dismantled and lifted out of the station before being transported to Auckland port and shipped back to its manufacturer. Although the TBM was custom built for this project, the manufacturer will be able to re-use certain parts on multiple TBMs in the future.
Now that we have built both tunnels, the next step is to implement train systems within the tunnels. This complex work involves the railway systems, signals and tracks and other infrastructure so that it can all link up to the existing Auckland rail network.
|
|
How did the TBM navigate underground?
The Karanga-a-Hape team recently received a question about the TBM – how did it navigate underground?
As GPS doesn’t work underground, the team used Total Stations which are survey instruments used to measure angles and distances and can measure a distance within 1 millimetre, to keep the TBM to its planned route.
The Total Survey data was updated and fed to the TBM pilot every 30 seconds and showed the exact horizontal and vertical placement of the TBM. The pilot also controlled the pressure on the ‘thrust rams’ which are the pieces of the machine that advanced the TBM by pushing against the segment rings. There are a number of thrust rams around the circumference of the TBM shield. The amount of pressure on each of these rings can be adjusted which controls the force at which the thrust rams push their area of the TBM forward. This creates a turn!
With the use of the mentioned total stations (Theodolites) the team would create a precise survey control network on the surface to build all the above ground infrastructure, stations etc. They would then utilise and extend the same precise network underground to the rear of the TBM as the tunnel advances.
The TBM also used a guidance system with a dedicated total station and reference prism mounted to the tunnel wall that constantly measured the two calibrated prisms on the TBM to allow constant accurate positioning of the TBM against the design alignment. The coordinates of the guidance system total station and reference prism are updated from the control network installed to the rear of the TBM as the TBM advanced. This ensured the tunnels tied in perfectly with the stations at the key interfaces.
|
|
Works update - Beresford Square
The Beresford crew spent the month of September building walls from B7 (the lowest floor) to B5, completing seven internal and two external walls during the month. While making progress is always a good thing, with each pour the working area for the crew gets much tighter throwing up additional challenges. The image below shows progress at the beginning of September while the image beneath that is from the end of the month.
|
|
|
In the picture above you can see wet cloth is being used on freshly poured concrete walls to assist to the curing process.
|
|
|
Block walls continue to be built as can be seen above taken from the Pitt Street end looking west. The area at the far end of the station will be where ticketing and turnstiles are located.
Throughout October construction of the B5 slab will be a core focus, as well as completing the southern perimeter wall construction works. In addition, the team are continuing to build walls in the western side of the station with several pours scheduled for October in this area.
|
|
|
The image above shows the launch point for a 40-metre escalator on B2 that will take commuters to the platforms. The image below shows the landing point for the escalator on B7 with a peak of natural light in the centre of the image.
|
|
|
(From left to right) Karanga-a-Hape Station’s Champion of Champions Sitapa Blake, Jake Baaua and Aaron Otene.
|
|
Tipping our hat to our site champions
Health and safety is paramount across our construction sites and we want to celebrate those who go the extra mile to keep themselves and their work whānau safe.
Each year, the Link Alliance identify individuals who go above and beyond through our Health & Safety Champion of Champions awards.
There were three recipients at Karanga-a-Hape Station: Sitapa Black from the Mined Tunnels, Jake Baaua at Mercury Lane and Aaron Otene at Beresford Square.
The winners, nominated by their fellow workers, are presented with a highly sought-after, custom designed hard hat produced as part of the Link Alliance Social Outcomes programme. Each hard hat is uniquely designed by residents of Kohuora Auckland South Corrections facility.
|
|
Securing peace of mind for our homeless community
A huge challenge for Auckland’s homeless community is keeping what belongings they have safe and secure.
Up on Karangahape Road though, a local journalist and homeless advocate, Six, is doing their bit to help their local homeless community.
Six has unveiled a set of wheelie bins proudly provided by the Link Alliance, secured with padlocks and chains, outside the Pitt Street Methodist Church to give those living rough somewhere safe to store their gear.
Just over the road from our Beresford Square Karanga-a-Hape construction build, the unveiling was celebrated with a karakia and performances from The Auckland Street Choir.
|
|
Works update - Mined Tunnels
It’s rinse and repeat in the tunnels with work and progress throughout September mirroring that of August, with a focus on cross passages and installation of the permanent concrete lining.
|
|
|
Steel reinforcing around the junctions of tunnels and cross passages has been a focus for the past few months. Last month the team completed installing steel reinforcing at the last of seven junctions, as shown above with the cross passage looking west into the Mercury Lane station box.
|
|
|
The complex steelwork around the junctions was installed by crews of 10 working day and night. Each junction took two – four weeks of work to complete.
Outside of the junction areas steel strengthening is not required as structural strength is derived from the arch shape of the tunnels.
|
|
|
The area above at the northern end of the southbound tunnel represented a big milestone for the crew, who recently completed their largest ever concrete pour at this location. In total, 44 tonnes of reinforcing steel was used, taking a month to install. The volume of concrete used here was the largest ever in a single pour in the tunnels – 260 cubic metres (almost 30 concrete trucks worth) poured from 3am – 6pm.
|
|
|
Above: Looking south towards Maungawhau / Mount Eden from the southern end of the southbound mined tunnel. Reinforcing and formwork have been installed in preparation for a concrete pour.
|
|
|
Cross passages between the bored tunnels are spaced approximately every 200-metres. The passages are almost complete and will be finished when the TBM gantry has been completely removed from the northbound tunnel.
|
|
|
With the final breakthrough into Te Waihorotiu Station on 14 September, the 130-metre long TBM needs to be removed. During October, the TBM conveyor belt and gantry will be pulled back through the tunnel (the cutterhead was craned out at Te Waihorotiu) and disassembled at Maungawhau / Mount Eden. The segments on the floor in the picture will also be removed but these will exit the tunnels via the temporary access shaft at Karanga-a-Hape.
|
|
|
Alex Tuhi (far right) in the mined tunnels at Karanga-a-Hape Station earlier this month.
|
|
Talking tunnels, meet...Alex Tuhi, Shift Boss - Mined Tunnels
What does your job at the Link Alliance entail?
I'm the shift boss at Karanga-a-Hape Station in the Mined Tunnels team along with four leading hands on a rotating day/night shift. We all provide leadership and guidance to our tunnel whānau here at Karanga-a-Hape.
Where did you grow up?
The biggest city in my world...Omahu Marae, which is about 10 minutes west of Hastings.
Where were you working prior to this?
I worked at a Darwin oil and gas LNG processing plant for four years, before our family returned home to take care of my wife's mum.
What do you do when you are not working?
Whānau time is very important when you a working and living away, so you have to make every minute with your family count. Other than that I just get told what to do by my wife as she's the boss at home!
|
|
Touching time: An exhibition
You may have read that the spoil excavated from our construction sites has been used to rehabilitate quarries for housing but a small amount went on a different and quite unique journey.
Yukari Kaihori, an artist currently based in Auckland, has used spoil material excavated from Beresford Square station box to produce an exhibition that showcases the immediate ecology and environment around us.
Yukari’s work, that concerns ideas of the more-than-human-world and the immediacy of mundane places, has featured in recent exhibitions across the country.
The exhibition ‘Touching Time’ will be held at The Audio Foundation (4 Poynton Terrace, Auckland), 20 October – 16 November, with the official opening take place at 5:30pm, 20 October.
|
|
Take a stroll back in time
If you have ever wanted to hear about the history of Karangahape Road, why not jump one of the upcoming walking tours taking place this month.
The Auckland Heritage Festival, will run 1-16 October and will include free tours, organised by the Link Alliance, around the neighbourhoods of the CRL stations at Karanga-a-Hape, Maungawhau / Mount Eden and Te Waihorotiu.
Come and join historian Edward Bennett as he takes you through the rich history and architecture of this local precinct right up to the present day.
Click here to find out what to expect on the tour, ‘Link Alliance: History and future Karangahape’, and to book your spot. The tours will take place 1-2pm, Thursday 6 and 13 October.
|
|
Works update - Mercury Lane
Fantastic progress can be seen from Mercury Lane as the steel superstructure for the Mercury Lane entrance continues to grow. The framing of this three-story building is scheduled for completion by mid-October, to be followed by pouring the floor slabs and cladding. The building will house ticketing, electrical, ventilation, fire suppression equipment and back-office rooms.
|
|
|
|
