Consortia in place for enabling works

I was forwarded this piece from (NZ) Contractor Magazine yesterday afternoon for a read.

Below is an introductory extract:

AUCKLAND’S $2.5 BILLION City Rail Link project passed a milestone in April, with the appointment of two construction consortia to commence the first phase of the CRL in the Downtown area.

It signalled a welcome development in what has been a shaky start to Auckland Transport’s ambitious project. But funding uncertainties mean it could be 10 years before commuters reap the benefits of the 3.6 kilometre north-south route, stretching from Britomart to Mount Eden.

For a scheme first mooted in the 1920s, CRL has been a long time coming. Yet, for the project, whose purpose it is to create a better integrated public transport system, allowing more connections between rail and bus services, it is still early days. Designed to cater for 30,000 people on the rail network at peak hours – double the number currently – while slashing travel times across the rail network, CRL aims to help free-up disjointed rail travel in New Zealand’s most populous city.

Project director Chris Meale says the joint venture appointments meant the City was now; “definitely on the way to building a key missing link in our city’s public transport network.” Britomart Station would no longer be a dead end, and journey times would be vastly reduced. Aotea would be three minutes from Britomart, Karanghape Road six minutes away and Mt Eden nine minutes.

There was wide interest from the New Zealand construction industry and beyond, Meale says, as Auckland Transport appointed Downer NZ and Soletanche Bachy JV, and ‘Connectus’, a joint venture of McConnell Dowell and Hawkins, for the first phase of design at a cost of about $3 million. CRL spokeswoman Carol Greensmith says the next phase will provide for a negotiated contract to proceed with construction.

She says Auckland Council expects the government to fund 50 percent of the cost of CRL, adding; “However, this can only be confirmed through the formal funding agreement. [Meanwhile], funding for early enabling works is from Council and [has been] approved.” Overall, the government is committed to a ‘joint business case’ with Auckland Council in 2017 and to providing its share of the funding for a construction start in 2020, meaning completion will be mid-2020s.

The government has said it is prepared to consider an earlier start to the business case provided that a number of key targets can be met. They include a demonstrable increase of 25 percent in employment figures in the city centre over current levels, (though a deadline has not officially been set) and a significant rise in rail patronage.

Greensmith says the latter target, of some 20 million trips, will be met; “well before 2020, and is on track to be reached by 2017”, laying foundations for discussions between government and the council to seal approval for the funding.

“The parties have identified the need to address funding, including how project costs are shared between government and council,” she tellsContractor.

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Full post and source: http://contractormag.co.nz/contractor/aucklands-city-rail-link/

It seems the only hold outs against the City Rail Link (well Auckland Transit Link if we were to take it by its truer name) is the Government itself and whoever allowed the dribble in the Herald’s paid transport section yesterday. Sooner or later the missing Link will be built with or without a Government’s help.

I need not remind our Government that overseas highways seen as both monolithic and “obsolete” thus being removed. Yet our Government seems to be continuing down a path those overseas cities did in the 1960’s and now regret today in 2015.

Remember these #CRLFacts