Kia ora neighbours
We hope that you and your families are all safe and well.
As the country moved to Covid-19 alert level 3 our construction activities began again across the Karangahape Station site, and as always, the health and safety of our staff and the public was front of mind.
Before work could recommence all our construction crew attended sessions outlining the new public health requirements, with a focus on physical distancing and hygiene.
Morning toolbox talks are now preceded by a health check, with all workers required to answer a health questionnaire and have their temperature checked.
If you have any questions please contact us by replying to this email or phone 0800 CRL TALK and select option 4.
Warm regards,
The Karangahape Station team.
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Above: Early morning health checks at Beresford Square
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Key upcoming construction activities
Mercury Lane
- From 10 May, Cross Street will be temporarily closed to through traffic at Mercury Lane. This is for approximately six weeks. All access and egress will be maintained via Upper Queen Street. Loading zones will remain but most on-street parking will be removed.
- From 17 May, for approximately three weeks, East Street will be temporarily reduced to one lane (near South Street) with traffic flow maintained via automated stop/go lights. This is to allow access of a crane to site and for future set up of a mobile crane working from the road reserve.
- Construction of the bentonite plant in Mercury Lane, which will be onsite for approximately six months. (further details below).
- Utilities work to continue in Mercury Lane, near the Cross Street intersection.
- Modifications to the triangular road island at Mercury Lane / Canada Street junction. Site egress will be modified following this work.
- Hoardings to be re-aligned on Mercury Lane with single-lane traffic flow maintained.
Beresford Square / Pitt Street
- Utility diversion works continue in Beresford Square.
- Pitt Street lane reduction (see below).
- Continue to set up our construction support area at 15-27 Beresford Square, which includes offices and facilities.
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Above: Site preparation continues in Mercury Lane
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Dame Whina Cooper wins CRL vote!
We are pleased to announce that City Rail Link’s Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM) will share the name of one of New Zealand’s most inspirational leaders, Dame Whina Cooper, a woman who spent most of an illustrious life leading the fight for social justice and land rights for Māori.
Dame Whina Cooper was born in 1895 in Panguru and died in 1994. She moved to Auckland in 1949 where she was elected the first president of the Māori Women's Welfare League in 1951.
She played a major role in improving Māori living conditions in urban areas and her efforts saw the league grow to have more than 4,000 members and 300 branches in just five years. Her role in public life continued into the 1970s. In 1975 when she was 80 years old, Dame Whina Cooper led the land rights march from the Far North to Parliament. She was made a dame in 1981 and a member of the Order of New Zealand in 1991.
Tunnelling tradition dictates a TBM cannot start work until it has been given a female name, a sign of good luck and safety for the project ahead. The naming tradition can be traced back to the 1500s when miners and military engineers working with explosives prayed to Saint Barbara, their patron saint, for protection.
The TBM is due to arrive in kitset sections from China in October. It will be reassembled at Mt Eden project site.
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Karangahape Karakia
As the sun rose over Tāmaki Makaurau on April 29, kaumātua (elders) from Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei, performed a moving karakia at our construction sites.
The karakia acknowledged the cultural significance of the whenua (land), its ancestors and those who work, live and play in the area today.
In line with Covid-19 physical distancing requirements, this gathering was restricted to as few people as possible.
The Karangahape team would like to give a big thank you to Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei for their help with this.
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Sign of the times
Demolition of the old Mercury Plaza was completed in February to make way for the new Karangahape Station. However, before demolition works got underway in October 2019, the owner of the plaza made sure to keep a well-known memento – the big sign.
The iconic neon Mercury Plaza sign now has a new lease of life on a front lawn in Mt Eden where it gets regularly rearranged. It turns out ‘Mercury Plaza’ can spell quite a few words.
So far, the large letters have been used to display words such as 'mercy', 'pray', 'anzac' and 'cure Plz'.
The giant game of scrabble has no doubt helped keep the sign owner and neighbourhood entertained during lockdown. You can read more on RNZ.
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Pitt Street road layout changes
You’ll notice a new road layout the next time you go through the Pitt Street / K-Road intersection, which has reduced Pitt Street to one lane in each direction around Beresford Square.
These changes give room for machinery and staff to work safely in a small construction footprint that reflects the extent of the Beresford entrance for Karangahape Station. It’s a set-up that will remain in place for the duration of our construction activities, scheduled for completion in 2024.
On-street parking on Pitt Street, between Karangahape Road and Greys Ave has been removed for the duration of our construction activities. The loading zone near 57 Pitt Street will be maintained as long as possible with an alternative business loading bay to be installed in Beresford Square near Day Street.
We are also working with Pitt Street businesses to arrange alternative parking for their pick-ups and deliveries. Please get in contact if you would like to discuss alternative business parking if you have been affected by the lane reduction.
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Seeing red - bentonite plant coming to Mercury Lane
Large red silos will soon appear at the Mercury Lane construction site. The silos, similar to those used at Queen Street (pictured above), are part of a bentonite plant, which will be onsite for approximately six-months.
The bentonite plant is needed for the below ground construction of the station’s concrete walls, known as diaphragm walls (D-walls).
Bentonite slurry – essentially a wet clay – is pumped into the excavated area to maintain positive pressure and prevent the trench from collapsing until steel reinforced concrete can be added in its place. The bentonite is continuously pumped through the excavated area and back through the plant to screen out dirt and other material prior to re-use.
The bentonite plant will be constructed in the north-west corner (uphill on the East Street side) of the Mercury Lane construction site and will involve the installation of nine, 12-metre tall silos and other equipment.
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Above: Diaphragm wall process
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Shop Local - a note from the KBA
During these times we would like to help promote the KBA’s very important message of supporting our local businesses and community. If any business would like to be set up as a CRL supplier to potentially supply a service or goods to the CRL or Karangahape Station team, please don’t hesitate to get in contact with us at Karangahape@linkalliance.co.nz
Also, if you’d like to be included in the Karangahape trader directory, please email traders@cityraillink.govt.nz. Or click on the website for more details: trader-directory-karangahape
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Join our team!
The Link Alliance is actively recruiting roles for our project offices and construction sites. Some of the roles will be working directly within the Karangahape Station team!
This project is a game-changer for Auckland and we would love to have you join us. As New Zealand's largest ever transport infrastructure project we are committed to boosting economic activity by providing jobs to Aucklanders particularly in the wake of COVID-19.
To view all current vacancies click here.
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