‘Valerie’ the tunnel boring machine and ‘Gomer’ the piling rig are making excellent progress on the City Rail Link construction.
Valerie’s first mission almost complete
‘Valerie’, the 2m-wide tunnel-boring machine simultaneously excavating and installing a new stormwater pipe under Albert Street, is expected to finish the first leg of her journey this week.
Valerie, named after Olympic shot-putter Dame Valerie Adams, started tunnelling and pipe-jacking work from the Victoria Street on 21 November last year. By the time she arrives at the Swanson Street reception shaft mid-week, she will have travelled 290m.
Valerie will then be dismantled and transported back to the Victoria Street shaft in preparation for the second leg of her journey under Albert Street – tunnelling 200m to the shaft at Wellesley Street.
Gomer making good progress
‘Gomer’, the nine-storey-high piling rig affectionately named after 1960s TV character Gomer Pyle, continues to make good progress on Albert St, keeping the project on track to start digging the cut and cover tunnels at the end of April.
Over the next fortnight, Gomer will work between the Shakespeare Tavern and the Prince Albert Apartments.
To date, Gomer has dug 142 piles of up to 20m deep, which have been filled with reinforcing cages and concrete. There will be a total of 376 piles.
Contracts mark a milestone
The first contract documents for the entire City Rail Link (CRL) project from the city to Mt Eden have gone out the industry, marking an important milestone for the project as it moves beyond its current CBD sites.
Expressions of interest are being sought for the design, procurement, installation and commissioning of all tunnel track work and rail systems between Britomart Station and the Western Line at Mt Eden.
Other contract packages to be released this year include one for the construction of the CRL tunnels and new city, Karangahape and Mt Eden stations and a further package for a stormwater diversion in Mt Eden.