City Rail Link’s work on Waitematā Station (Britomart) awarded with ‘Leading As Built’ rating

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August 18, 2022

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The City Rail Link’s work on the Waitematā Station (Britomart) has been awarded a ‘Leading As Built’ rating, independent verification of the project’s outstanding sustainability outcomes.

The achievement follows the ‘Excellent As Built’ and ‘Leading Design’ ratings awarded earlier for CRL works at the lower end of Albert St, as well as a wide range of honours for innovation, sustainability, engineering and circular economy practices bestowed upon the project.

The Waitematā works involved the construction of twin 136m-long tunnels under the Chief Post Office, a protected historic building, and lower Queen St and the reinstatement of the surrounding urban realm. The works were conducted by the Downer/Soletanche Bachy (DSB) joint venture, while design works were conducted by Aurecon, Mott MacDonald, Grimshaw, Jasmax and Arup.

CRL chief executive Dr Sean Sweeney says he wants to acknowledge the work of the contractors at Waitematā and the Link Alliance, which has also adopted ISC sustainability guidelines in the design and construction of the project’s main contract for the delivery of tunnels and stations.

“CRL is what I believe is New Zealand Aotearoa’s highest value employment project, bringing big changes to the construction industry,” Dr Sweeney says.

The Waitematā works will result in a 17.8% reduction in peak operational energy use and a 23% reduction in operational carbon emissions over the project’s 100-year lifespan. In terms of the project’s aspirational goal of zero waste in landfill, 100% of spoil, 97% of construction and demolition waste and 74% of office waste was diverted from landfill.

“These are meaningful and tangible results that reflect our commitment to sustainable infrastructure construction and, given CRL’s 100-year lifespan, will benefit Aucklanders for generations to come,” Dr Sweeney says.

Downer environment sustainability manager Sarah Sutherland says achieving the highest IS-rated project in Aotearoa is a great accomplishment: “This success was built on the collaborative relationship between CRL and the DSB joint venture and underpinned by the strong sustainability culture set by our senior leaders.

“It is our earnest hope that by setting the bar high, we inspire construction projects that follow to achieve even better, more sustainable outcomes,” Sutherland says.

The Link Alliance’s construction of the tunnels and stations is already delivering significant benefits, such as reducing the embodied carbon of the concrete used by substituting fly ash for cement, as well as energy-efficient station designs that include minimising lighting and ventilation energy use.

Works across the Waitematā Station (contract 1) and tunnels and stations (contract 3) have seen more than 16 785 tonnes of construction demolition diverted from landfill for recycling or reuse during the financial year. Across CRL contracts, 1,415,841 tonnes of waste, including spoil, have been redirected.

Dr Sweeney says these facts represent an important achievement for New Zealand and the construction industry, in particular: “Construction and demolition account for about half of New Zealand’s total waste to landfill, so as the country’s largest infrastructure project, we have an essential leadership role to play in reducing waste to landfill.

Among the re-use purposes, the waste has been put to include basalt rock from Maungawhau Station (Mt Eden) used to build sea walls on the Coromandel Peninsula and create bike obstacles at the Totara Park Mountain Bike Club in South Auckland and timber offcuts being used for works of art.

Source: City Rail Link

Image Source: City Rail Link

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