CRL Albert St – Keeping roads and foopaths open were priorities during CRL’s inner city construction.
Generations of New Zealanders will benefit from the construction of the City Rail Link (CRL) project. Next year Aucklanders will be using a world-class railway, however, those living beyond the city’s boundaries are set to gain too from the project’s sweeping legacies.
CRL’s vision from day one was to deliver the very best to help Auckland grow and prosper, but even as the first steps began on the project there was recognition of a broader obligation to hold it up as an industry exemplar and drive change for the delivery of large-scale infrastructure projects.
We’re determined to leave Auckland - and New Zealand - as better places than when we first started. There’s no bigger transport infrastructure project than CRL and nudging the bar higher across a broad band of construction-related disciplines is our over-arching legacy.
CRL is a $5.5-billion project – New Zealand’s first underground railway – funded 50/50 by the Crown and Auckland Council. Twin concrete tunnels 3.45km long will directly join Auckland’s main - and currently dead-end - Waitematā Station (Britomart) with Maungawhau Station on the Western/North Auckland line. CRL includes new underground stations – Te Waihorotiu and Karanga-a-Hape – and Maungawhau is being rebuilt as a new station.
Just as the opening of the Auckland Harbour Bridge 66 years ago changed roading, a completed CRL will have the same seismic impact for rail and the wider public transport network. A CRL connected into Auckland’s upgraded rail network will rewrite train timetables – services will be more frequent, faster and reliable, transforming access for people in and out of the city centre and even to big crowd destinations like Eden Park.
CRL is well placed to set higher benchmarks that range from social procurement, workforce development, a strong partnership with mana whenua and safety leadership.
Right in the heart of the country’s largest city, we are delivering something this country has never seen before - a transport project huge in scale and complexity. Add to the mix CRL’s constrained footprint and you have the catalyst for improving technical excellence, system integration, and collaboration-driven delivery. It’s not just construction success, it’s also about long-term value - the lessons we are learning and sharing with others are legacies that will benefit the construction sector long after our work is done.
CRL is divided into three main tunnel-related contracts:
The project has enhanced existing industry practice, and we’ve introduced our own to get the best possible legacy outcomes.
C1 delivered one of the earliest and most dramatic of CRL’s legacy achievements, one I describe as a bold and extraordinary example of our “can-do” attitude.
After two years of meticulous planning supported by technical innovation, 14,000 tonnes of the heritage-listed Chief Post Office (CPO), “front door” to the Waitematā Station, was lifted on to temporary foundations to build the CRL tunnels underneath.
A low-headroom hydrofraise (reverse circulation rig for excavation) was designed to work in the cramped basement and 50mm high-strength steel reinforcing bars required for new foundations was manufactured in New Zealand for the first time.
The historic building is now supported securely on diaphragm (D) walls sunk 20m below ground, new foundation columns, cross beams and the tunnel boxes themselves.
The benefits are twofold.
Lifting and lowering the CPO and building tunnels below the level of the nearby Waitematā Harbour set new boundaries for the way complicated construction is completed successfully, and, very importantly, it’s given our wider industry confidence to tackle complex challenges.
CRL legacy began before construction started with a global first – integrating Māori cultural values into the project by establishing a partnership directly with Tāmaki Makaurau Māori.
Eight iwi are represented on CRL’s Mana Whenua Forum – an active, meaningful and rewarding collaboration that has meant much better project outcomes.
Aucklanders can see straight away its positive influence just by looking at station designs that reflect the city’s cultural heritage and the Māori view of the world – you won’t see anything as stunning anywhere else in the world!
The forum also brings value to our sites.
In a word, the Mana Whenua Forum is an absolute win-win for CRL.
An important CRL Ltd decision was the adoption of the alliance model to deliver C3, the largest and most challenging of our project’s contracts – the main tunnels, stations and rail systems.
The Link Alliance includes six design and construction companies with New Zealand and international experience and CRL Ltd. As an alliance, they share risks and rewards. Decisions are made on a “best-for-project” basis.
The big advantage is having everyone – designers, builders and us – sitting around the same table at the same time, making decisions collaboratively. One team gives us the ability to move with speed and flexibility to improve project management and deal with changes in scope and any other challenges.
One immediate advantage occurred when a contractor went into administration and the Link Alliance was able to efficiently include this key contract into C3’s scope and programme. Certainly, during the early stage of the pandemic and associated shut-downs the Link Alliance was able to keep working on design and construction programmes even under constrained conditions, and we were well placed to quickly regain construction momentum when things returned to normal.
Over the years, more than 14,000 inductions of staff and subcontractors have taken place on CRL sites, with teams delivering 23 million hours of work with no fatalities.
Given the numbers, safety has always been a non-negotiable priority for us.
Safety protocols have to keep pace with an ever-changing cycle of risk management as the project’s stages have shifted from demolition, utilities upgrades, civil works, tunnelling, working under mining regulations, constructing buildings and streetscapes, architectural fitouts, station and rail system installation and commissioning, multiple high-voltage energisations and testing trains through the stations and tunnels.
Strong leadership and embedding the right structures to keep workers safe range from the basics – insisting that full personal protective equipment (PPE) is always worn - using toolbox and start-up meetings to educate, adhering to strict health guidelines to keep sites open, and training exercises with emergency services that reflect CRL’s changing landscape.
The start of CRL construction identified opportunities to improve safety protocols to align them closer with international standards. Roll forward a few years and CRL Ltd and the Link Alliance are now transferring health and safety learnings and successes to big projects in Canada and Australia.
When construction started in 2016, sustainability and environmental protection were project cornerstones with CRL making industry-leading changes a “business-as-usual” function.
Contractors were challenged to think not only about cost and programmes, but resource efficiency as well. Those who valued sustainability were rewarded when they bid for CRL work.
CRL substantially reduced the project’s carbon footprint, delivered savings around the use of construction and operational energy, made more efficient use of water and materials, dramatically reduced waste earmarked for landfill – material retrieved from the project’s demolition programme is now being reused in Auckland and in cyclone-damaged buildings in Tonga – used high-tech computer technology like BIM (Building Information Modelling) to track the project’s carbon footprint during design and construction, and protected Auckland’s colonial heritage.
The project’s commitment and focus on sustainability have paid off. CRL is now officially recognised as meeting the highest sustainability standards on either side of the Tasman.
The Australian-based Infrastructure Sustainability Council (ISC) has praised CRL for adopting sustainability into the “DNA of its operations” and awarded its highest “Leading” As-built rating to the C1, C2 and C3 contracts – the entire project from Waitematā to Maungawhau. ISC also awarded the Link Alliance a “Leading” As-built rating for the construction of the main tunnels and the Te Waihorotiu, Karanga-a-Hape and Maungawhau Stations, including its use of a tunnel boring machine.
One of the most important takeaways we have to share around sustainability is that people drive success more than policies. We’re able to demonstrate that passionate, committed and tenacious people who are engaged and empowered at every level are a priceless sustainability asset.
We do, however, acknowledge that along with the gains, CRL has tackled many challenges.
New Zealand’s never before dealt with a project the size of CRL in the middle of a bustling city.
One of the most important takeaways we have to share around sustainability is that people drive success more than policies.
Delays caused by the pandemic, the weather, and other organisations taking advantage of CRL work to undertake their own required works contributed to criticism being levelled at the project by neighbours impacted by construction.
CRL is committed to building and maintaining strong relationships with its neighbours and stakeholders.
Often the message is one people and businesses don’t want to hear, but we have always prioritised our engagement with communities to enable residents and businesses to plan ahead throughout construction.
Alongside face-to-face meetings, newsletters, social media posts and media releases, the project also took a proactive role to promote and celebrate the communities it was a part of through an activation and events programme. This included supporting businesses to take part in events such as Branch Out in Uptown and First Thursdays on Karangahape Rd and creating space for communities such as a Pocket Park concert stage in Pitt St. Micro-grants and independent advice from a business adviser helped businesses adapt to the changing environment by introducing and adapting their services or products.
In 2021, CRL began administering a $12m Targeted Hardship Fund established by CRL’s sponsors, the Government and Auckland Council, to support those small businesses worst impacted by disruption.
We value all the support we get from our neighbours, and we hope that they will benefit from living and working in more attractive and vibrant communities when our work is done.
Continuous, consistent communication is not restricted to our neighbours. We have a “no-surprises” policy to keep the sponsors informed. There are monthly meetings and reporting on project progress.
This is a regular part of any relationship with the Crown or a council, but their importance for us grew because of our site locations and the impact on our neighbours as well as the construction challenges created by the pandemic.
With heavy construction finished, the project has also established an informal One Client Alliance for the next phase of work, commissioning and testing the station and rail systems required to make CRL operate safely.
Experience from overseas tells us that this is the most challenging part of any new rail project - it is work we cannot do alone. Our approach is to collaborate with others.
The One Client Alliance involves CRL Ltd, Auckland Transport and KiwiRail, which will operate and maintain a completed CRL. They are supported by Link Alliance and Auckland One Rail, the city’s train operator.
This is collaboration and communication at its best.
Alongside commissioning, we have 16,000-plus tests and re-testing to complete. Sharing everyone’s resources and expertise will get the best possible outcomes for the city by delivering the great dividends everyone wants.
CRL’s commitment to lift the infrastructure bar is a catalyst for wider change.
We’re just the stepping stone for those who follow us. We share lessons learned as much as we can but there is still much to be done – how to minimise disruption for people and businesses impacted by works, social and environmental sustainability and value capture, particularly of land adjacent to project sites.
Legacy is an ongoing story, but everyone who has worked on CRL can already be proud of our successful and long-lasting achievements of innovation and positive change that are helping make Auckland and New Zealand better places.
Patrick Brockie is chief executive of City Rail Link.
City Rail Link is an advertising sponsor of the Herald’s Infrastructure report.