McConnell Dowell has reached a major milestone on the construction of a new rail tunnel in Auckland, New Zealand.
The first 348 metres of the Auckland City Rail Link (CRL) have been completed, with a tunnel established from Wyndham Street through to Commercial Bay.
The Connectus Joint Venture has installed 362 reinforced concrete piles around the future CRL twin tunnels, relocated the major stormwater pipe on Albert Street, strengthened the Orakei sewer main and relocated kilometres of stormwater, electrical, gas, sewerage and internet lines.
In total, 2500 tonnes of steel bar reinforcement have been tied together, with more than 1600 trucks pouring more than 10,000 cubic metres of concrete for the tunnel box formation.
The construction team is now working to remove the temporary ground support, relocate services and complete the backfilling of the trench.
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New streetscape work will be completed block by clock starting from Wyndham Street to fully reinstate Albert Street.
Works are expected to be completed at the Wyndham-Albert Street intersection by the end of the year.
City Rail Link Ltd’s Chief Executive, Sean Sweeney, acknowledged the work of the contractors, and the support from the local community.
“Construction like this in the middle of a city is never easy for anyone – the risks for workers that come from working in confined spaces, and the disruption for people living and working nearby – but we have taken a big step towards building a project that will change the way people can travel around our city,” he said.