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Mined tunnelling activity for the second City Rail Link (CRL) tunnel is expected to be complete this year.
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Kia ora,
Welcome to our first newsletter of 2023.
It hasn’t been an easy start for Auckland. Our thoughts are with all those who have been affected by the recent flooding events. Our construction sites have also been impacted with large amounts of water received underground. Over the weekend our teams responded to clear the water, and construction activities have now resumed on site.
Despite the difficult beginning, we hope you had a restful summer break and time with whānau and friends. At Maungawhau/Mount Eden Station we achieved some huge milestones in 2022; 2023 will be no different as we get another year closer to having an underground rail network. This year, we can look forward to more roadwork being completed along with the excavation for track building. The team is also excited to complete works for the mined tunnels and installing the waterwall in the station building.
Last month was an exciting one as well, during the Christmas Block of Line (BOL) activity as quite a few milestones were reached. This coming month however, we have Porters Avenue Bridge's full opening to look forward to and the structure of the Maungwhau/Mount Eden Station building coming to life. This month, we also have our annual Aroha in Uptown event where Mount Eden Road will be transformed into a hub of live music, art, food and activities. Read on to find out more!
Thank you neighbour for your continuous support during our work. If you have any questions about our work activities, don’t hesitate to get in touch with us at mteden@linkalliance.co.nz or 0800 CRL TALK press 5 for Maungawhau/Mount Eden Station.
You can also follow Link Alliance’s progress by clicking the social media buttons below.
Ngā mihi,
The Maungawhau/Mount Eden Station team
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Installation of the Fenton Street Bridge over the rail corridors during Christmas BOL.
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Looking at the Maungawhau/Mount Eden station site now, compared to just a few months ago, it’s taking a whole new shape. Our construction team’s hard work is paying off as we hit more milestones for the CRL project. The 2022/2023 BOL ran for 21 days, 7 days a week – and the progress is plain to see.
This BOL was a time to advance essential activities around the live train line, as it is safest to do these while no trains are running.
Some of the key milestones achieved during the BOL included lifting the Fenton Street Bridge span into place, the canopy construction on the Western Line platform, installation of the glass on the station building overpass bridge and, largely completing the overhead lines and tracks for the second Western Line track.
Construction for the second Western Line track began in October with track building and included night and weekend works in the lead up to the BOL. Activities included constructing the track, putting up overhead lines, and cabling works for the signals and electrics.
Now, when you look over the site's horizon, the new Fenton Street Bridge stretches over the rail corridor - the deep red bridge is quite impressive. Just behind it is the new station and platform which has started to take shape, where you can now start to imagine the train stopping from the Western Line in the near future.
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Maungawhau/Mount Eden Station building and platform is starting to take shape.
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View of the site with the new tracks and overhead lines on the second Western Line track (right), with Fenton Street Bridge shown in the background.
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We would like to take this opportunity to thank our neighbours for all your support during this BOL, including throughout track building which has been ongoing since November. It is a busy and important time for the project and this helped us to make tracks on the project!
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Last month we were gearing up to install the Fenton Street Bridge. This month, we’re delighted to share that the installation was a huge success! The Fenton Street Bridge is an important piece of supporting infrastructure for the redeveloped Maungawhau/Mount Eden Station, and massive milestone for our community and our team.
Transporting, building, and installing a bridge of this size is a big undertaking, and we’re excited to share some behind-the-scenes photos of the Bridge’s journey before it settled in its final resting place.
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During November and December 2022, the Bridge was delivered in five pieces, and assembled on site.
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We painted on its beautiful rich burgundy colour and perfected the details while it was safely on the ground.
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If you thought the 110-tonne crane looked big, just look at what came next!
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In mid-December, a 500-tonne crane arrived on site to begin setting up for the big lift.
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500 tonnes is a lot of crane! It was delivered in pieces, and assembled on-site by our 110-tonne crane!
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With a single lift from Ngahura Street, we lifted the Fenton Street Bridge into place on 28 December, 2022.
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Connecting Fenton and Ngahura Streets, the bridge will improve safety and accessibility for pedestrians once it’s open.
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It was a beautiful day, and we got the Bridge in place without a hitch!
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Like all new bridges surrounding the new Maungawhau/Mount Eden Station, it connects users to the area, with views to the maunga and designs that reflect local stories and history.
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Celebration of love - Aroha in Uptown
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The Link Alliance and Uptown Businesses Association are partnering to bring the second annual Aroha in Uptown event to Mount Eden Road.
On Saturday 11 February, Mount Eden Road will be transformed into a tunnel of love between Symonds Street and Normanby Road, with businesses and creative spaces radiating with live music, art, food and activities from 11am to 3pm.
The Eden Terrace area is undergoing significant change as the CRL renewed train station, bridges and buildings emerge from the ground creating transport options that people will love. Aroha in Uptown is a celebration of all that people love. A time for everyone to come out into the street to enjoy some fun and games.
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Start at our Northern hub (in the carpark across from the CRL visitor centre at Te Manawa) and Southern hub (outside NZ Strong, 108 Mount Eden Road) – or in the middle at Enfield Street and Mount Eden Road. Make your way between the hubs and enjoy petals and pints, puppy paw-traits, Taekwon-Do, outdoor photo booths, dance and art classes, planting demonstrations and much more.
For more details head to the event page here, otherwise, we will see you on February 11 to celebrate.
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Haven’t made it to one of our events yet? Check out the video here to see what you are missing out on!
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The second level of the Station Building is currently being constructed, with pre-cast concrete panels being lifted into place.
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The structure of the Maungwhau/Mount Eden Station building is coming to life! Nearly all external walls for both levels of the back of house and front of house are installed, totaling 117 precast concrete panels. The ‘front of house’ will be publicly accessible while the ‘back of house’ will house plant and technical rooms.
The roof structure for the back of house is in place, with the installation of guttering and roofing sheets to follow. Once this is complete, the team will work on the front of house.
What’s next for the Station building? Our architecture team will move in and focus on the building's design features this year, including the installation of the feature waterwall and glass lava triangles.
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The glass panels for the Western Line platform canopy are all installed.
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Next door on the Western Line platform, the architecture team have already installed over 50 glass panels on the platform canopy. These glass panels fit into the steel structure which crews have been working hard to construct over the past few months.
Work will soon ramp up on the CRL platform, where we will begin to see the construction of the overpass structure that will connect the CRL platform to the Station building. Watch this space!
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Build the bridge and get over it!
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Porters Avenue Bridge photographed from Wynyard Road.
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Get excited as its not long until Porters Avenue Bridge and its elevators are fully operational and open to the public in the middle of February. In celebration of Porters Avenue Bridge's full opening, let’s go down memory lane (or bridge should we say) and recap the journey it has been on.
The team has worked tirelessly over the last couple of years lifting and shifting over 1000 pieces of this puzzle like bridge as they were bolted together using around 15,000 bolts. The team has since installed the side panels of the bridge showcasing the triangle shapes on the side of the stairs which represents the 48 mountains in Auckland. The 46 metre footbridge, weighing around 160 tonnes, opened last year to the public giving pedestrians safe access 7 metres above the 4 railway lines.
The full opening of the bridge will be signified by the public’s use of the elevators which is designed to meet all accessibility needs. What’s even more impressive is that the elevator is designed to fit 26 people in at once with the lift structures standing 11m on the Wynyard Road side and an impressive 13m from the Porters Avenue side. Along with this, we have also installed a bike ramp next to the footbridge to allow those with bikes to get over.
We look forward to seeing everyone use the bridge!
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Businesses, have your say on the Targeted Hardship Fund (THF)
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Project sponsors have commenced a review of the Targeted Hardship Fund (THF) and would like to hear your feedback on its application, decision processes, its eligibility and assessment criteria.
If you own a business nearby the Te Waithorotiu (Aotea), Karanga-a-Hape (Karangahape) or Maungawhau/Mount Eden Station, please read the letter from the Ministry of Transport by clicking the button below and supply your feedback to cityraillink@transport.govt.nz by 10 Feb 2023.
Please note, this is open for all businesses, including:
- Businesses that applied and received the THF
- Businesses that don’t meet the current eligibility criteria
- Businesses that considered applying for the TFH but didn’t
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Community Manager's review: Float Culture
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Woman floating in Float Culture tank.
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Smell, sight, sound is absent. I am floating on a soft mattress of thick salt water. Everything has stopped except for the noise inside my head which is apparently the hardest to still when the external stimulation goes.
The experience is peaceful and calm after admittedly having some anxiety about the being in a ‘tank’. My concerns were unfounded. The space I am in feels open and serene. I feel supported on the water and confident that I can stop if I want to stop. When I come out of the float my mind is quiet, present in the moment. Physically I feel like I have had a relaxing massage.
The Float Culture landing page opens with the words, “Build peace, mindfulness and complete physical relaxation into your lifestyle with floating.” A great resolution for 2023. I will certainly be back to float again.
Float Culture is right here in the Mount Eden neighbourhood. You can find these purveyors of peace at 12 Water Street off of Mount Eden Road between Boston Road and Enfield Street.
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Quarterly survey feedback
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Thank you for completing our last survey of 2022. We sent the survey to 750 people who live, work or play in the Maungawhau/Mount Eden station area. Our response rate of 5% was an increase of 1% from the survey in November.
This is what you told us, nearly 70% of participants told us that it is easy to ask questions or raise concerns, and emails and station newsletters are still by far our most popular channels. Thank you for letting us know, we’ll continue to build on these channels by growing our newsletter readership and continually streamlining our notification process.
Face to face rated higher in this survey than in previous surveys so we’ll look for more opportunities to meet in 2023. We are positive that this will help to lessen concerns expressed in the survey about whether we are listening or authentic.
We continue to receive feedback from those who are hungry for more technical detail. We are responding to that desire with more tailored Info Hubs in the CRL Visitor Centre at Te Manawa. We have cancelled our regular first Tuesday of the month drop in at the Centre and will instead have quarterly sessions that we will advertise. These sessions will have a technical focus with subject matter experts on hand.
Until then, we thought it would be great to show you drone footage comparing November 2021 and November 2022. What a tremendous change.
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Mt Eden CRL Link Alliance site drone footage November 2021.
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Mt Eden CRL Link Alliance site drone footage November 2022.
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The Link Alliance have fresh drone footage every month on YouTube. Look for January’s footage in February and see if you can spot all the BOL changes.
This survey is instrumental in how we shape our communications and engagement practices here at Maungawhau/Mount Eden.
Survey participants can opt into a draw to win vouchers. Next month’s winner will receive vouchers for two free floats at Float Culture.
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Keen movie-goers watching ‘Hugo’ on our big screen.
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Over the summer, it was lovely having you join us for the magic of cinema! We were thrilled to host you at our CRL Visitor Centre at Te Manawa with beanbags, popcorn and some much-loved films for all ages. Good times were had by adults and kids alike with Hugo and the Polar Express playing on the big screen.
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A guided tour discussing the Maungawhau/Mount Eden Station site from the perimeter.
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We are kicking off the new year with some more guided perimeter tours around the Maungawhau/Mount Eden Station. From February these will return to regular times every month on the first Tuesday from 4.30pm, and the last Saturday of the month from 10am.
Our tours take approximately 1 hour and will depart from the CRL Visitor Centre at Te Manawa at 1 New North Road. To sign up for the tour please send an email to mteden@linkalliance.co.nz. Numbers are limited so get in quick because they are a huge hit.
We look forward to you joining us!
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Each month we translate technical terms into easy-to-understand language. This month we’ll look at 'boom', and what this means on our site.
We hear boom a lot on site, and not for the reasons you might think! A boom is something that can hold more than its own weight and performs a specific function. Construction equipment often uses a boom, a moveable “arm” attached to different machinery, to manoeuvre loads.
On cranes, the boom is the arm attached to the crane cab, which lifts heavy objects. Crane booms can swing around in a circle from the top of a tower crane, or pivot up and down from the base of a crawler crane, but generally the boom itself remains static.
On our concrete pump, the boom moves about, delivering concrete pumped from trucks nearby. Because it needs to access very specific, and often small or hard to reach areas of site, the boom is hydraulic and highly flexible. You can see this in action below.
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A boom in action on our concrete pump (red).
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