Trilogy of Breakthroughs

Despite a challenging start to the year with the Covid-19 Omicron outbreak, our teams continue to make great progress. Case in point, the Beresford Square site at Karangahape Station achieved not just one, but three breakthroughs this month.

Into the mined tunnels

Karangahape Station has two entrances, 223 metres apart - one at Beresford Square and one at Mercury Lane. Over 25,000 cubic metres of spoil – enough to fill 10 Olympic-sized swimming pools – was removed from Beresford Square for the breakthrough into the mined tunnels to occur.

This was the first time that the stations entrances, platforms and tunnels at Karangahape Station were all connected.

Into the northbound tunnel

The second breakthrough took place at the Beresford Square entrance, 26-metres below street level, this time into the northbound tunnel.

The Dame Whina Cooper tunnel boring machine will pass through the northbound tunnel in mid-2022 during as part of the second drive from Mt Eden to Aotea.

Into the station box

The last Beresford Square breakthrough for the month was to the station box, also known as Adit 5.

An adit is an entrance to an underground mine. This one connects the north side of the station box to the southbound tunnel.

The southbound tunnel was bored by the TBM last year, connecting the three CRL stations – Mt Eden, Karangahape and Aotea.