MINDING THE GAPAs the TBM continues her drive south, two new bridges constructed inside the NAT will help make sure Alice is serviced a lot more easily with the concrete segments for the second tunnel. The bridges are level with both tunnels and run 40 metres from the northern portals across the NAT sump. Their construction means there is now no need to use a crane to help transfer segments and other supplies between the two tunnels. Multi-purpose vehicles (MPV), which carry nine ring segments a load, will be able to travel through tunnel one across the first bridge and out of the NAT. The driver will then switch cabs and drive back down the NAT across the second bridge and into tunnel two.

“We will be able to deliver one MPV load every hour as opposed to the crane transfer which could only move three individual ring segments within the same time,” says Senior Design Engineer David Kubik.Tunnel activity is also ramping up at the other end of the project. With the TBM back in action, an armada of trucks are arriving at the Wiri quarry in south Auckland to dump spoil. During the TBM turnaround operation, around 15 trucks an hour during the day arrived at the quarry. The Wiri team is now managing 21 an hour during the day, and 15 an hour at night. (photo: David Kubik).

There are still 20 or so months to go before Waterview’s physical works are completed, but already the Well-Connected Alliance’s longer term planning for the operation and maintenance of the project is shifting up a gear. In addition to constructing the Waterview Connection, the Alliance will take care of the tunnels and the Great North Road Interchange for the first 10 years after they open in early 2017. “Traditionally contractors in New Zealand deliver a finished product to a client like the NZ Transport Agency and that’s it. This project, however, will not end with our last pour of concrete or when the final layer of asphalt goes down,” says Project Alliance Manager, John Burden. “Our Alliance will continue to take ownership long after that - we won’t be walking away just because construction is finished.”An Operations and Maintenance alliance that includes the WCA and SICE, the Spanish tunnel control specialists, has been developing the long-term operation and maintenance plan for 2 years now, and aims to have this finished by the end of 2015. John says it’s a challenging job, but the O and M alliance will deliver many benefits.

“From the start, there will be better coordination around procurement of tunnel equipment. We will be buying kit that we – not some other contractor – will have to maintain and operate long-term. Costs are important and if we can spend wisely now, we save in the future.“The tunnels are 2.5kms long – the country’s longest road tunnels – and SICE will bring valuable international experience of operating tunnels and managing responses to any incident.” John says the sub-alliance will be responsible overall for about 5kms of highway but will work closely with the Transport Agency, which is responsible for the rest of Auckland’s motorway network. Tunnel Operations and Maintenance Manager Emilio Marquez reports to the Transport Agency’s Chief Advisor on the Waterview project, Sumi Eratne. “Sumi’s inside knowledge of the Transport Agency will help ensure that we will fully integrate our planning and delivery into the agency’s operations. We will not be a motorway network that is separate from the Transport Agency’s.“Remaining responsible for another 10 years or so, reinforces the need for us all to finish the physical works faultlessly so that we inherit a first class project to operate and maintain.”

WATERVIEW CONNECTION NEWS 01 May 2015

End of the shift. Frank Walter (left) and Daniel Stewart (centre) from Herrenknecht and Grant Maclean (TBM Engineer) leaving the tunnel. The Alliance has an operations and maintenance role long after the project’s physical works are completed. (Photo: Harpreet Singh)

PLANNING FOR THE LONG TERM

MYSTERY BIDDER The successful bidder for this distinctive piece of pottery from Herrenknecht wants to remain anonymous. “It’s going to be a surprise gift for my partner,” the bidder says. The container is shaped like a disc cutter. It was presented by the German manufacturer of the TBM to Tunnel Manager Iain Simmons, who kindly donated it for auction to raise money for the Cancer Society. The successful bid was $105. The anonymous bidder also gets a bottle of wine.

freephone 0508 TUNNEL (88 66 35)project website www.nzta.govt.nz/waterviewconnectionwatch videos on youtube www.youtube.com/wcnow

NO ROOM FOR ERROR IN GREG’S WORLDThere is no margin for error in Greg Horne’s working world. He’s a person who always aims for perfection – absolute zero, give or take a single millimetre.“I’m not helping someone to build a new kitchen or a new bathroom – where I work accuracy is absolutely critical down to plus or minus that single millimetre.” Greg is one of Waterview’s team of surveyors. He works in the north. His colleagues can also be found in the south, inside the tunnels and checking land settlement above the path of the TBM.“We’re the link between designers and engineers – the people who make sure stuff gets built in the right place, and that it’s the right shape with the right dimensions.”Greg’s “companion” to help make sure everything is right is called a Robotic Total Station – an instrument that looks a bit like a camera sitting on the top of a tripod. It uses electronics and optics to accurately read distances and the shape of the land. Greg has science and commerce degrees from Otago University. He worked on the Tauranga Harbour Link and Auckland’s Victoria Park Tunnel projects before tackling his “complex and challenging job” at Waterview. Construction Director Stefan Hanke describes Greg and his colleagues as the project’s “quiet achievers.”

“They play an important role without getting too much attention or praise. But they do work bloody hard to make sure everything is right.” Stefan says the surveyors will also play an important role when it comes to the project’s legacy and its completed components are finally handed over to the NZ Transport Agency or to Auckland Council organisations like Watercare and Auckland Transport. “It’s the work of the surveyors who help make sure surface works like a bridge are up

to standard, and the accuracy of the work delivered by Greg and his colleagues will also help people in the future find that buried cable or drain easily and safely.” For Greg, the immediate focus is very much today. “It’s a big thrill helping to build the interchange, and I will be very satisfied when I see people driving on it and remembering my role that helped to get them there.”

QUICK CONNECT01 May 2015 WATERVIEW CONNECTION NEWS

Surveyor Greg Horne aiming for pinpoint accuracy with his Robotic Total Station

NEPAL NIGHTMARE: RED TAPE RESCUEMost of us complain about red tape and bureaucracy interfering with our lives, but in Simon Butler’s case it may have helped save his life! Simon was the project’s Environmental Manager in the south

before flying out last Friday for Nepal to start a 12 day trek up to the base camp below Mt Everest. He never made it!Just after landing at Kathmandu last Saturday, the earthquake that has claimed so many lives all over Nepal – including the Everest base camp – struck. At the time, Simon was still inside the airport terminal dealing with his visa. If the red tape had been sorted a few minutes earlier, he would have found himself out on the devastated streets of Kathmandu trying to find safe refuge from the buildings collapsing everywhere. “I’ve spent nights trying to sleep in the middle of a roundabout, under a tree, and in a hotel lobby that was frequently vacated in a hurry due to the aftershocks,” says Simon.He’s now heading to London – starting the second leg of his overseas trip a lot earlier than planned. Simon’s roundabout “home” in Kathmandu