The first work has begun under the City Rail Link’s stations and tunnels contract, with utilities relocation kicking off in Auckland on September 17.
Teams have begun work to shift utilities like water and power lines along Albert Street between Wyndham and Wellesley Streets, and on some surrounding streets, to make way for the Aotea underground station – one of two new stations being delivered by the Link Alliance under the CRL project’s biggest contract.
“Getting the utilities out of the way clears the ground for the substantial construction programme that will follow – completing the rail tunnels, building the Aotea and Karangahape underground stations and revamping the one at Mt Eden,” Link Alliance deputy project director Dale Burtenshaw said.
Once the work team has located exactly where underground utilities are, relocation crews will dig trenches 50 to 60 metres long as utilities are shifted.
CRL said each trench will take roughly four to six weeks, with digging on the road and footpath up to property boundaries. Once utilities are moved, trenches will be back-filled and footpaths reinstated.
Burtenshaw said the CRL team would be carefully monitoring traffic changes and pedestrian access along the work route to minimise impacts on surrounding residents and businesses.
“Our key consideration is to keep the project area safe, easily accessible, well lit, and clean,” he said.
“For noisy works we’ll use acoustic shielding to reduce their impact on people who live and work nearby. For this stage of work we’re keeping site fencing to a minimum, moving it along the street as the utilities relocation progress. Outside the immediate works area, we’ll use waist-high barriers for safety.”