CRL Connection newsletter December 2016

CRL Connection

8 December 2016

Plenty to indulge in at the Stamford If you’re looking for a great venue to enjoy some afterwork drinks, a delicious meal or an indulgent high tea experience, Stamford Plaza Auckland on Albert Street has plenty to offer.

Once you step inside the large glass doors into its stylish foyer, you can’t help but feel you’ve stepped into an oasis of calm… and luxury. It’s little wonder this five-star hotel has attracted its fair share of celebrities, from musicians Lady Gaga, Janet Jackson and Coldplay to fashion designer Peter Alexander and actor Russell Crowe.

General Manager, Marija Gecan, says Happy Hour has been reinstated from 5pm to 7pm every Thursday and Friday, due to repeated requests from local businesses and guests.

“We’re inviting people to pop in after work to enjoy a drink and some great live entertainment,” she says. “We offer drinks specials and complimentary canapés and we book musical acts that we know people will enjoy listening to. It’s a great place to unwind after a busy day.”

Stamford Plaza also boasts two in-house restaurants: Knights On Albert, which offers contemporary New Zealand cuisine and displays a one-of-a-kind lighting feature by artist Peter Stoneham; and Kabuki Teppanyaki, which combines the very best of New Zealand produce

and traditional Japanese cuisine, with a fiery live show from talented teppan chefs.

The hotel is also renowned for its traditional High Tea experience, with dainty delights and sweet bites served on elegant three-tiered stands from 11.30am to 4pm every day.

Stamford Plaza Auckland can cater for a wide range of events, including multi-day conferences, weddings, product launches, meetings and gala dinners for up to 400 guests. It boasts seven conference rooms, 286 spacious and luxurious guest rooms, an indoor heated pool, whirlpool spa, sauna and a fully-equipped gym.

On 29 November, Stamford Plaza Auckland hosted 300 New Zealand and overseas guests who were attending our City Rail Link industry briefing for the project’s remaining construction contracts, to be tendered in 2017.

Japanese

もし、 このファクトシートを理解する必要があれば、下記のメール経由で我々にご連絡ください。

Russian

Если Вам необходима помощь в разъяснении содержимого в данном бюллетене, просим адресовать Ваши вопросы на нижеуказанную электронную почту.

Simplified Chinese 如果您对这简报有任何疑问请以下的邮箱联系我们

Korean

본 자료표에 관한 더 많은 정보를 원하시면 하단의 이메일 주소로 연락 주시기 바랍니다.

Arabic ‫ةرشنلا اذه مهف يف ةدعاسم ىلإ ةجاحب تنك اذإ‬، ‫هاندأ ينورتكلإلا ديربلا ناونع ربع انب لاصتالا ىجري‬.

Funding partner:

website AT.govt.nz/CRL email CRLproject@AT.govt.nz

visit our Facebook page www.facebook.com/cityraillink

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Lower Queen goes green To help bring more colour and vitality into the downtown area, the City Rail Link has partnered with Activate Auckland to transform Lower Queen Street into a bright bustling hub of lunchtime activity. every Wednesday and Friday from 12 to 1.30pm, commuters, residents and visitors can enjoy ‘Lunch on the Lawn’ - a welcoming green lawn area with deck chairs, picnic tables, food vendors and live music - to give them a break from the sight of private and public city construction.

The main goal of the downtown ‘activation’ initiative is simply to provide more comfort and an improved urban space for the public until the CRL and Commercial Bay construction works begin in that area in May next year. It also encourages local cafes and restaurants to expand into the public space to offer their culinary delights. Local businesses wanting to be part of “Lunch on the Lawn” should contact the team via lowerqueenplaza@gmail.com With the addition of the i-site tourist information centre and soon-to-be-installed wayfinding signage on Lower Queen Street, this new public space will also help people better navigate route changes in the downtown area.

CRL sustainability report released CRL has just released its first annual review on sustainability, which shows the project is on track to deliver substantial sustainability benefits.

CRL Project Director Chris Meale says the aim is to build New Zealand’s largest infrastructure project while creating the least possible waste, using minimal resources, choosing the right resource and method for the task and contributing to Auckland’s social fabric.

“Embedding sustainability within the thinking of the CRL management team and our contractors has been key to our current success in this area.

Read the report

website AT.govt.nz/CRL

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Changes coming to the Britomart entrances

An artist’s impression of the new ‘glasshouse’ station entrance.

An information kiosk has been set up at Britomart Station as part of making sure Auckland train users understand the forthcoming changes at the station, due to the CRL construction.

The Queen Street entrances close during the Christmas holiday period to allow strengthening works being done prior to the City Rail Link tunnels being constructed.

There will a new entrance in Commerce Street, behind Queen Street and Tyler and Galway street entrances. AT Ambassadors will be on duty at peak times during the changeover to help passengers.

The eastern entrance at Takutai Square will remain.

There will be toilets in the new temporary entrance as the present toilets will close. Ticketing facilities (ticket and top up machines, the ticket office and customer service centre) will be moved up to the new entrance. There will be stair and some escalator access from the Commerce Street entrance.

The new CRL information kiosk.

Takutai Square will still have escalator access.

For those who can’t use the stairs, there will still be lift access.

The temporary accommodation will continue for three years while the necessary CRL construction at Britomart is done by the Downer Soletanche Bachy joint venture. It will be business as usual for the station, which will remain operational throughout.

The building, originally Auckland’s Chief Post Office, was opened in 1912 by then prime minister William Massey. Heritage New Zealand notes that the imposing icon was designed in an Imperial Baroque style, which was used for many public buildings of the time, including the Auckland Town Hall. White Oamaru stone and Coromandel granite emphasised the grandeur of its main facades. All heritage values will be maintained in the construction process.

Those involved in the construction are working closely with Heritage New Zealand.

email CRLproject@AT.govt.nz

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Installation of Britomart’s ‘glasshouse’ roof begins

Installation of roof netting on main canopy.

Our contractors are all go at Britomart Station to ensure the new temporary glasshouse entrance will be ready for public use in late December.

The first stairs are put in place.

The roof of the main canopy for the new station entrance is being installed, along with final fixtures and utilities for the new accommodation area, which will house the station’s new public toilet and staff facilities.

The southern side will become the station’s new ticketing area and retail space and an office for Transdev station staff.

The timber framing and roofing have been installed in the new Customer Service area.

Just inside the station, the existing bridge is being widened to run flush with the lifts and the first of four new sets of stairs are being installed - two from the new glasshouse (NE and SE corners) down to both lower levels and two from the bridge inside the existing ‘glasshouse’ to the lower levels.

The removal of the platform slab and garden areas continues on the lower levels to make way for the new stairs.

Thank you for your patience while this work is undertaken.

website AT.govt.nz/CRL

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Commerce Street traffic changes Please be aware that until late December there will be no public access along the station side of the Commerce St footpath between Tyler St and Galway St while footpath and road works are underway.

Temporary fences have been installed while our contractors remove the existing path, install new underground services and then reinstate and upgrade the footpath and entranceway into Britomart Station.

For safety reasons, traffic management along Commerce St will become a stop-go operation over the weekends while existing kerbing is removed, the road is upgraded and the safety of the signalised pedestrian crossing is improved.

Pedestrian diversions will be in place, so please cross at the allocated crossings (Commerce/Quay and Commerce/Customs lights) and be alert to changes

Champion shotputter inspires name of new tunnel boring machine What have Valerie Adams, Florence & the Machine, Little Red Riding Hood and the Greek goddess Athena got in common?

They were all names suggested by students of Papakura’s Sir Edmund Hillary Junior School as part of a competition, run by contractors Connectus, to name two new tunnel boring machines (TBMs) brought onto the CRL project.

The name ‘Valerie’ was submitted by not one but two students, Jasmine Matthews (10) and Kauri Poki (11), in honour of New Zealand’s “strong” champion shotputter, Valerie Adams. ‘Ma¯ia’, the name for the smaller TBM was submitted by eight-year-old Estherbella Haenga, because “it means brave in Maori

and working in the tunnel is a brave thing to do.”

Using a trenchless construction technique, the micro-TBMs will simultaneously excavate while installing specially-designed reinforced pipes using powerful hydraulic jacks that drive the TBM through the ground.

With a two-metre diameter, Valerie will be constructing the stormwater main, tunnelling and pipe-jacking from the corner of Victoria and Albert Streets to reception shafts at Wellesley and Swanson Streets.

Maia has a 1.05-metre internal diameter. She will pipe-jack her way underneath the Victoria Street intersection to temporarily divert the Orakei Main Continued on page 6

email CRLproject@AT.govt.nz

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continued from page 5

Jasmine Matthews with the tunnel boring machine she named Valerie.

Sewer to enable the existing sewer line to be strengthened before the CRL tunnels are built above it.

The winning students and their guardians were invited to watch Valerie and Maia being lowered into the ground on site in the CBD.

Valerie Adams herself was chuffed that the young students thought to name the TBM after her, commenting on Facebook: “Thanks so much I feel honoured to be named after strong machinery”.

The world champion shotputter is hoping to visit the CRL worksite soon to see her namesake in action.

Jasmine (pictured) expressed amazement at the job Valerie has ahead of her: “It’s hard to believe that tunnelling like this is going on underground while we are walking along the street. It’s quite incredible.”

School principal, Kataraina Nock, says participating in the competition and being part of such a high profile project was a great experience for her students.

“To think they can all take a ride on the CRL in years to come and know they’ve been part of its creation makes this meaningful and special,” she says.

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