Aotea Station Information on upcoming works November 2019
Artist’s impression of the Victoria Street West entrance Artist’s impression of inside the Wellesley Street West entrance
Artist’s impression of the station exterior at the Wellesley Street West entrance
As part of the City Rail Link project, a new train station will be constructed beneath Albert Street between Victoria and Wellesley Streets. The main station building will be on the corner of Wellesley Street West and Mayoral Drive, with additional entrances on Victoria Street West, either side of the intersection with Albert Street.
Aotea Station will be situated in the heart of Auckland’s city centre, serving the highest density of businesses and households in New Zealand. It will bring Aucklanders from all corners closer to this hub of employment, study, entertainment, hospitality and culture. Underground tunnels travel south, connecting Aotea to the new Karangahape Station and north to the revitalised Britomart Station. Trains will run every 10 minutes to the west, east and south, and the design is future proofed for a North Shore line. Aotea Station is being designed in partnership with Mana Whenua as a reflection of the unique social, cultural and geographic history of it’s neighbourhood, while acknowledging the wider Auckland context. Entering the Aotea Station building from Wellesley Street West, you’ll notice hundreds of rods suspended from the ceiling representing
the stems of flax plants made into piupiu (cultural skirts). The undulations are a tribute to waters of the Waihorotiu stream that runs beneath Queen Street nearby. Within the station, the Matariki Constellation that marks the Maori new year is acknowledged with seven skylights providing natural light to the concourse. Internal walls feature a traditional woven pattern. Moving through the concourse, escalators and lifts provide accesss to the first floor offering a weather-proof connection to the two Victoria Street West entrances. A second set of lifts and escalators offers access to the station platform. When it opens in 2024, the CRL will enable Auckland’s rail network to double in capacity to carry up to 54,000 passengers an hour at peak times.
What’s happening in the Aotea Station area Station-related works can be loosely grouped into three phases – enabling works, main station works and public realm enhancements. These phases will overlap as different work starts and finishes around the station construction area. Dates given are indicative but will be confirmed as planning is finalised.
Enabling works
What to expect during the enabling works • Access, traffic, parking changes – some footpath and traffic lanes will be narrowed while we are working in each area, and some parking spaces will be temporarily unavailable. Access to shops, businesses and residences will be maintained at all times. • The Albert Street slip lane between Wyndham Street and Victoria Street West will be temporarily closed, half at a time, for utility relocation works. While we work on one half, the other will remain open. • Truck movements – trucks will carry excavated material away from the site. • Safety fences and noise mats will be erected around worksites and hoardings around the Bledisloe site compound.
Utilities investigations September 2019 – March 2020: To locate underground utilities we excavate slot trenches using a saw cutter, digger and hydrovac truck. Boreholes are made to find the location of retaining wall piles underground.
Removal of building canopies and trees December 2019 – May 2020 Deconstruction of building canopies overhanging the work zones will make space for station wall construction. We will also prune or remove some trees.
• Some noise and vibration from saw cutting and hydro excavation, particularly during utility investigations, and to a lesser extent in relocations.
Public realm improvements
Utilities relocations November 2019 – July 2020 To move utilities out of the station footprint, a new combined services trench will be excavated. Sewer, water and stormwater pipes will be laid 4.5m under the ground, then the trench will be backfilled to 1.5m deep. New ducts will be laid for power, fibre and gas lines. Vector and Watercare will run new lines through these ducts and arrange the switch over.
Site establishment at Bledisloe Carpark December 2019 – April 2020 We will establish a compound to accommodate bentonite production for diaphragm wall construction, worker assembly and briefing points, crane erection, and retrieval of the tunnel boring machine when it breaks through from Mt Eden.
Artist’s impression of the station building
2023 – 2024 Completion of Victoria Street West entrances. Working from Wyndham St and Mayoral Drive ends: • Reinstatement of the public realm environment including plantings, pedestrian accessways and pavement construction including walkways connecting the station with Aotea Square • Decommissioning of the site office and compound • Fitting of station specific signage and artwork in pre agreed locations Late 2024 - CRL opens Expect to see bike parking, trees and landscaping and street furniture, with extended pedestrian areas and good sight lines at the station entries and exits for increased safety.
Main Aotea Station works Mid 2020 – Mid 2022
Mid 2020 – Mid 2022
Station construction will start from both the north and south ends. A diaphragm wall will be installed from Mayoral Drive to Victoria Street West either side of Albert Street to provide the structural perimeter of the station box, while a piling rig will be used to construct bored piled walls from Wyndham Street to Victoria Street West.
Phase 1 of the top down construction – capping beams will be installed, then concrete roof slabs constructed and installed onsite so the roadway can be reinstated.
Early 2021 – Early 2023 First level excavation and concourse construction will be carried out underneath the opened roadway.
Mid 2021 – Mid 2023 Second stage of excavation and construction of the entrance building at the corner of Albert Street and Wellesley Street West. The building will house the mechanical and electrical station plant.
Late 2021 Tunnel boring machine breaks through tunnel one from the Mt Eden end and is transported back to Mt Eden to start the second tunnel. Construction of lift shafts and plant room.
Mid 2023 – Late 2024 Testing and commissioning of the electronic, mechanical, information and wayfinding systems of the station. Integration of these systems with the wider network.
Mid 2021 – Mid 2023 Station fitout – wall cladding, flooring, ceiling and finishes, installation of mechanical, electrical, fire and hydraulic systems. Construction and fitout run concurrently in different parts of the station. Key:
Diaphragm wall and piling operations
Mechanical and electrical installation
Bulk excavation
Platform and slab construction
Architectural fitout and finishes
Completed platform slab
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Parking and property access
• We will manage contractor parking to avoid occupying on street parking spaces.
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• Machinery will be positioned to minimise noise impact on surrounding buildings where possible.
• At times we’ll have traffic controllers managing access to loading bays.
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• Noise mats around trenches will reduce noise from concrete saws, excavators, and hydro-excavators.
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Victoria St West Entrances
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What we’ll do to minimise the impact of these works on you
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CRL/Underground Track Simplified map indicative only - not to scale
Traffic changes • Signage onsite will advise of upcoming changes to the road layout. • The Link Alliance is working with Auckland Transport to keep public transport and people moving through this part of the city.
Visual impacts • A mixture of hoardings will be used around the site to meet the safety requirements of the site while providing light, visibility and visual aesthetics. • We will develop images advertising local businesses to decorate the hoardings.
Pedestrian access • Safe property and pedestrian access will be maintained at all times with temporary diversions in place as construction progresses. • Pedestrians may need to be re-routed at times around works but we will use wayfinding signage to help them find and access businesses.
Soil and dust control • Water trucks will spray unpaved areas to minimise dust.
Artist’s impression of the station interior
Artist’s impression of the platform
Managing the impacts of our construction activity Just as we did during the planning phase for our enabling works, we are now preparing management plans for Auckland Council approval that set out how we will manage the effects of our construction for people and the environment. These management plans include specific measures to address environmental effects such as noise, vibration, traffic, air quality, contamination, silt and sediment, groundwater and settlement. We are also preparing a Social Impact and Business Disruption management plan, and we are seeking input from people living and working within the vicinity of the construction area. We need to understand how people could be affected so that the management plans we prepare are as effective and responsive as possible. We incorporate this feedback into the management plans and submit them to Council for approval. Once approved, the construction teams will undertake the work in accordance with the measures outlined in the management plans which are designed to minimise effects on the environment and impacts to nearby businesses and residents.
Where to go for more information We’ll be adding more information about the upcoming works to the CRL website at cityraillink.co.nz. On the website you’ll find:
• How we’re working with our neighbours to reduce impacts of construction • Our committment to protecting heritage, archaeology, and the environment
If you have any questions or concerns about project works in the Aotea area please contact the Link Alliance Aotea Station team: • 0800 CRL TALK (275 8255), option 3
Check the website and CRL facebook page to • aotea@linkalliance.co.nz find out about drop in information sessions, • Consents, designs and technical information open days, events and engagement activities. • More information about the construction methods and machinery
The Link Alliance will design, construct and deliver the CRL’s twin rail tunnels, two new underground stations and a new Mt Eden station building. The Link Alliance includes seven companies with a wealth of experience in delivering large-scale infrastructure projects in New Zealand and overseas. The companies in the Link Alliance are: Vinci Construction Grands Projet S.A.S, Soletanche Bachy International NZ, Downer New Zealand Ltd, Tonkin & Taylor, AECOM New Zealand Ltd, WSP, City Rail Link Ltd.