Kia Ora

Another year of hard work and many milestones has come to a close at Karanga-a-Hape Station.

As a project, City Rail Link has come a long way over the past 12 months and the team has pulled together a highlights video for you to enjoy…

Our construction teams at Karanga-a-Hape Station will take a well-deserved break over the festive period from Friday 20 December, returning on Monday 6 January. No works will be taking place during this period but some personnel and security will be keeping an eye on our sites.

Please note that there are other organisations carrying out works around the Karangahape Road neighbourhood over the break.

If you live close to one of our construction sites and would like to receive the relevant weekly works update from us, please contact us via the email below and we will add you to the distribution list.

Regarding our works at Karanga-a-Hape Station, please don't hesitate to contact us via email at karangahape@linkalliance.co.nz or call us on 0800 CRL TALK (275 8255) and press option 4.

Ngā mihi,
The Karanga-a-Hape Station team

Works update - Mercury Lane

There's been a big change in the Karangahape skyline with the removal of the distinctive 40-metre tower crane behind the Mercury Lane entrance building, which has been a feature for the last three years.

The tower crane was taken down section by section with the use of a mobile crane that has a 400 tonne lifting capacity.

To maintain the balance of the tower crane during the dismantling process, the mobile crane takes the weight while removing the jib – the crane’s arm – and the A-frame, as seen in the first collage below.

After this, the mobile crane removes the counterweights, the cab and then the tower – also known as the mast – in sections, as seen in the second collage.

The crane has been invaluable for transporting large loads deep underground, reaching over the entrance building to install the sky element around three sides of the building, as well as construction of the entrance building itself.

In keeping with activities at height, work on the roof continues to progress nicely. The image below shows the ongoing installation of the roof steel. In the top right of the picture the ventilation shaft can be seen clearly for the first time, with both the shrink-wrap and scaffolding removed.

To the rear of the station – on the western side – the scaffolding has now been completely removed.  The image below shows both the western and southern sides of the building. There will be a walkway in this location, stretching from Mercury Lane to East Street, which is scheduled for construction in Q2 2025.

Inside the entrance building, architectural elements continue to be installed. The image below shows the ticketing area in the foyer of the entrance building. The shadowbox wall cladding (tinted glass) is completed in this area, and shadowbox installation is now underway at the platform level. Shadowbox cladding creates depth and dimension to walls that would otherwise be flat or plain.

Other fit-out activities include the installation of porcelain panelling (below left) and ceiling installation (below right).

Works update - Cable pulling

The complex array of equipment such as lights, cameras, and sensors being installed all require cabled connections.  So far, 575km of cable has been installed, with another 25km remaining. The emphasis now is on terminating and testing every cable.

Works update - Platform Tunnels

With the GRC (glass reinforced concrete) panels and ceiling battens installed along both platforms, the team are now completing installation of the panels and battens in the cross passages. The image below, compared to the architectural render, shows how this area is taking shape and how impressive it will look in a few short months. Precision is critical here, as the battens must be installed within tiny margins of error, leaving no room for even the smallest mistakes.

The image below shows the view through to the southbound tunnel from the bottom of the escalators at the Mercury Lane entrance. The ‘arch portal’, with design elements repeated throughout the platforms, serves as a gateway to the tunnels.

Works update - Beresford Square

The crew is making excellent progress with paving around the square, completing approximately 40% of the work. The images below showcase impressive stretches of finished sections on the north and south sides of the square. Work will shift to the western end in early 2025, where thicker and heavier stones, designed to support vehicle weight, will be installed.

As at Mercury Lane, architectural elements continue to be installed throughout the Beresford Square entrance. Below is a picture of shadowbox cladding being installed in the ticketing area at the western end of the square.

Meet Jovelito Lomosco

What does your job at the Link Alliance entail?

I am a Design Construction Coordinator, and I’ve been at Karanga-a-Hape Station for almost two years.

My job involves aligning the design and architectural delivery teams for efficiency and resolving issues that could impact site progress or delay the programme. I also oversee the coordination of seismic design for most of the elements of the project, ensuring compliance and alignment across all teams involved. On top of that, I carry out onsite inspections and monitoring. If there’s a potential hiccup, I’m there coordinating a solution before it turns into a problem.

Working with multiple teams daily has been both challenging and rewarding. However, the support, understanding, and collaborative spirit of our Karanga-a-Hape team made my job easier and more productive.

Working on this project has been a whirlwind of lessons, laughs, and, yes, a fair share of head-scratching moments. But at the end of the day, knowing that I play a role in sharing something so impactful makes it all worthwhile.

I grew up in the northern region of Mindanao in the Philippines, a small but vibrant city called Butuan City. It’s close to some local beaches, so I was lucky enough to enjoy plenty of fresh seafood, which is a way of life there.

For my education, I studied Civil Engineering at Father Saturnino Urios University, one of the most respected universities in our province. After gaining a few years of experience locally, I ventured into the Middle East to further my career and broaden my horizons. It’s been a journey, and I’m grateful for every step that’s brought me here.

Before moving to New Zealand, I spent over a decade working in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, where I had the privilege of contributing to two iconic projects in Riyadh. One of them was the Riyadh Metro project, which was recently inaugurated, and this was a proud milestone for everyone involved.

We’d always heard great things from friends about living and working in New Zealand, especially about the quality of life and family opportunities. That encouraged us to take the leap and experience everything this beautiful country has to offer. I feel incredibly fortunate to be a part of another iconic project here and continuing my career journey in such a rewarding environment.

I spend most of my time with my daughter when I'm not working, especially since my wife often works on weekends. I take charge of taking care of her and we usually head to her favourite spots, which are the neighbour’s house with lots of kids, playgrounds, and parks near the beach. She loves running around and playing, so those places have become our go-to bonding spots. It’s simple but incredibly fulfilling.

Our family enjoys celebrating Christmas by embracing a mix of traditions from our heritage. One of the most special customs we carry on is the Noche Buena, a Christmas Eve feast. It’s a cherished moment when family and friends gather together to rejoice, share a festive meal, and celebrate the season. It’s a time of joy, gratitude, and togetherness.

2024 highlights - Beresford Square

The beginning of the year saw the installation of the two sets of triple escalators at Beresford Square. The first to be installed was the 40-metre-long triple escalator that stretches from concourse level all the way to platform level, which consisted of 27 escalator pieces being bolted together.

April saw the installation of the second set of triple escalators, which will take passengers from street level to the concourse level. The first image below shows one of the escalators being installed, while the comparison image below that shows how the station is coming to life, compared to the artist’s render.

Glazing has been installed throughout Beresford Square this year, including the entrance building (first image below), the retail space within the service building (second image below), as well as on the two lift shafts within the station. The new windows and glazing are protected by white plastic sheets until works are complete.

The biggest milestone above ground has been urban realm works around the square and on Pitt Street.

In June and July, we excavated in front of Beresford Square businesses and along driveways, to lay a concrete base layer ahead of paver installation. As urban realm works began, our permanent hoarding was gradually replaced with temporary fencing, which brought more light and a feeling of more space to the square.

We also installed ducting before pouring the new base layer. The comparison image below shows installed ducting along the Theta building driveway compared to the view after the base layer was poured on to.

From September through to the start of November, urban realm works moved onto Pitt Street, with a need to switch traffic to the western side of the street as our work moved to the eastern side of Pitt Street.

The images below show the team excavating the road ahead of installing ducting and cabling and finally asphalt being laid before the next stage of roadworks.

After the work was completed, Pitt Street lanes were reinstated, with small pockets of the eastern side handed over to Auckland Transport to carry out their precinct integration works.

The Pocket Park saw its last performance after playing host to numerous events and activities during its three-and-a-half-year run, including the monthly K’Road event of First Thursday, food giveaways and busking performances, as well as celebrations for St Patrick’s Day, World Homeless Day and Safe Zone, among many others.

2024 highlights - Mercury Lane

This year saw the scaffolding around the Mercury Lane entrance building come down to reveal the stunning façade that wraps around the structure, seen in the above image.

The façade creates a repeating blue diamond motif wrapping around the building. The diamond pattern represents ‘the ātea’ – the stars of the eternal cosmos, and our place in Te Ikaroa, the Milky Way. The orientation of the sky element allows for air intake and exhaust for the louvres behind it.

On Mercury Lane itself, from April to July, we carried out essential Vector trenching works, installing ducting and cabling to future proof the neighbourhood’s power supply. Work here also involved connecting the station to the existing power, water and wastewater networks.

Back on our Mercury Lane site, a major fit-out milestone was achieved this year with the Tunnel Ventilation System (TVS) installation.

The major – and physically massive - components include attenuators, fans and funnels, as seen in the following images.

There are a total of five fans and TVS at Karanga-a-Hape Station – three at the Mercury Lane entrance and two at the Beresford Square entrance. The bi-directional fans can move a combined 130,000 litres of air per second. The image below shows a fully installed fan at Mercury Lane undergoing testing and commissioning.

Atop the entrance building, the structure’s roof has been under construction throughout the year. The comparison below shows the progress from January through to December.

As at Beresford Square, glazing has been installed at Mercury Lane around the southeastern corner of the entrance building, as seen in the image below. The entrance lift shaft has also been glazed from platform level to street level.

With all of Mercury Lane’s escalators having been installed late in 2023, the focus shifted to fitting the treads (effectively the stairs) and glass barriers before testing was carried out.

2024 highlights - Platform Tunnels

With the installation of the coping stones (hidden under green sheeting in the above image) completed last year, the tunnels team began the next phase of tiling and paving along the tunnel platforms.

The yellow tactile pavers (being installed in the image below), also known as tenji blocks, are a system of textured ground surface indicators that assist vision impaired pedestrians.

Finally, the terrazzo tiles (light grey tiles in the above image) were installed. Terrazzo is a composite material consisting of chips of marble, quartz, granite, glass, or other suitable material.

Jargon buster – Jib

A jib is the name for the projecting arm of a crane. In the image below of the tower crane recently removed from Mercury Lane, you can see the jib is raised high above the Karangahape Road skyline, stretching to 50-metres long.