Kia ora

We hope you and your whanau are keeping safe and well. Our thoughts are with everyone during this alert level 4 lockdown including all first responders, medics, those working in essential services and everyone that has already been affected by COVID-19. 

Like you, we are playing our part in New Zealand's response to reducing the threat of COVID-19 with civil construction work across all three City Rail Link stations paused with the exception of our Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM) operations. City Rail Link Ltd has advised the Government that it will operate its Tunnel Boring Machine at reduced level allowed under current Covid-19 health and safety regulations.  

A small crew of critical workers will be supporting the running of this machine while underground and on the surface, at our Mt Eden Station construction site. Safety of our people and site is a priority and appropriate measures are in place.  

Lockdowns are a tough time for everyone so if you find yourself or those around you needing a little extra help, we encourage you to use the resources below: 

• Lifeline 0800 543 354 

• Samaritans 0800 726 666 

• Youthline 0800 376 633, free text 234, email talk@youthline.co.nz, or find online chat and other support options here 

• Anxiety New Zealand 0800 ANXIETY (0800 269 4389) 

As always, if you have any questions or concerns about our works, you can speak to a member of our team at 0800 CRL TALK (press 5 for Mt Eden Station) or mteden@linkalliance.co.nz.  

Ngā Mihi,

Mt Eden Station team

Wellbeing Programme

This month, Link Alliance launched a wellness pilot program aimed to support the wellbeing of the Mt Eden community.   

Prior to lockdown we welcomed neighbours to our local wellness space to enjoy a quiet area to work or study in, and to join our wellbeing activities of mindfulness and meditation.   

To continue supporting the community during lockdown, we have temporarily moved our wellbeing activities online. We've asked people to bring along their paint brushes, yoga mats, and cushions and enjoy virtual classes of Meditative Art, Yoga Nidra, and Guided Meditation.   

It has been great to see so many new faces, and to hear how these sessions have helped people through this time of uncertainty.    

Let's continue to come together and support each other, even if it is virtually. Reach out to the Mt Eden Station team if you want to join these virtual sessions, or if there are any wellbeing activities you would like to see added to our program.   

Click on the button below to register your interest:

Update on our tunnels

Below ground, both mine and TBM tunnels are making excellent progress! 

Before lockdown, the team began to mine the next tunnel the TBM will travel through mid-next year. Using a split-face technique, the team are currently mining the top section of the tunnel known as the ‘crown’ and following this will be excavation of the bottom section, called the bench. 

We had mined 12 metres of 92 metres within the cavern before lockdown. 

While operating during Alert Level 4, we will not continue full-scale mining – the TBM will be working at a much lower level than full capacity. Link Alliance will be operating on a ‘do minimum/as necessary’ basis that falls within the parameters of this month’s Covid-19 Public Health Response Order. 

This low-level operation will allow us to remove the risk of pressure from earth settling around a stationary TBM and ‘trapping’ the machine.  

Since operating in lockdown we have now achieved 372 metres of the southbound tunnel! 

You can follow our TBM's journey at digCRL.co.nz.

Porters Ave bridge – the signal of completion is near 

If you regularly drive through New North Road or commute using the western line, you may have noticed a new structure emerging from the ground by Porters Ave crossing!  

This tall structure is the new Porters Ave’s bridge abutment which is a substructure at the end of the bridge span that supports the superstructure. The bridge is being built to carry pedestrians and cyclists over the crossing when the new CRL lines are in place. Fun fact - this unassuming bridge design holds the signal room, home to the signalling equipment, which is essentially the "brains" of the rail network!

Now that the abutment, on the Porters Ave side of the bridge is complete, construction of the signal room is due to commence. 

This 3 x 8m concrete box will have a pitched roof and once the bridge is complete, will be hidden beneath the stairs and behind steel panelling. 

The signal room will house the signalling equipment required for the control of the train movements, the train equivalent of traffic lights (signals) plus a few other components like sensors and alarms. It will send information back to the KiwiRail and Auckland Transport control rooms about the trains. 

Completion of the Porters Ave bridge and signal room is expected in early 2022 and construction for these structures are currently paused during COVID-19 Alert Level 4 restrictions. The team will resume work once the government has indicated it is safe to do so. 

Meet the team

This month we’re introducing our Environmental Advisor - Lorena Vigoya. Lorena hails from Bogota, Colombia but has lived in NZ for the past six years with her husband and her cat – Tango-Sophie. 
 

Lorena has a very important job at Mt Eden Station, monitoring the potential environmental impacts of construction.

She works alongside the construction crew on a day to day basis to ensure that Link Alliance can carry on with the works and meet the requirements that we have for the designation conditions and consent conditions. 
 

Although Level 4 lockdown means most of our construction activity is paused, Lorena still has a busy job preventing any unnecessary flooding and adjusting our water tanks to meet the current weather patterns. 

Thanks Lorena for being such a valuable member of our team!

Each month Link Alliance is going to look at some of the more technical terms from the construction and ‘translate’ them into more easy to understand terms. This month we look at the terms 'crown' and ‘benching’.

Crowning and benching are tunneling methods used to excavate mine tunnels that will support the future CRL lines. The top heading or crown is done with a combination of excavation mounted breakers and milling heads. This is followed by excavation of the lower half of the tunnel - the bottom bench.

As we excavate the bottom bench the team pours the concrete foundations for the TBM temporary rails.

Update on our information sessions & tours

Under the government’s guidance, we have paused our information sessions and perimeter site tours until further notice. Previously they have been held on the first Tuesday of every month at our visitor centre – Te Manawa. 

We look forward to resuming our information sessions and tours once it is safe to do so, keep an eye out for our communications and as always, if you have any questions about the project you can contact us on 0800 CRL TALK (press 5 for Mt Eden Station) or mteden@linkalliance.co.nz.