Auckland CBD businesses gain respite from City Rail Link
Inner city business owners will be relieved to see City Rail Link work has ended in Albert St.
Five years of City Rail Link work has come to fruition at the intersection of Albert St and Wolfe St in Auckland's CBD.
Digging up the busy city street for rail tunnels took longer than expected and caused hardship for businesses in the area, said City Rail Link Ltd chief executive Dr Sean Sweeney.
"There have been robust discussions over the years, but we have worked hard with local businesses to find suitable solutions to offset impacts when work fell behind schedule including the introduction of rent assistances scheme for those who qualified,” said Sweeney.
“We hope we are leaving behind a rejuvenated and transformed street.”
Work began in late 2015 on the city rail link section at the lower end of Albert St.
A trench was excavated down the middle of Albert St between Customs St and Wyndham St to build the project’s twin underground tunnels 350-metres long.
At Commercial Bay they connected with the tunnel built from Britomart Station.
Construction also involved relocating an important stormwater line and strengthening a section of a large sewer main.
Tunnel construction finished in mid-2019 and Albert St was back filled up to road level.
Street beautifying followed – building wider pavements, installing new street furniture and lighting, planting native trees and creating bus bays to upgrade public transport.
Sweeney says the end to the work at the lower end of Albert Street is an important milestone.
“Historically it is where CRL’s construction began, but when you look ahead it’s a timely reminder that CRL is a transformational project for the whole of Auckland."
"Alongside that city-wide view we have a commitment to leave a positive legacy locally where we have had to put our spades into the ground.“
Meanwhile, work is continuing from the Wyndham St intersection to extend the city rail link further south along Albert St to join the new Aotea underground station in the city centre.
⚠️ DOGS DIE IN HOT CARS. If you love them, don't leave them. ⚠️
It's a message we share time and time again, and this year, we're calling on you to help us spread that message further.
Did you know that calls to SPCA about dogs left inside hot cars made up a whopping 11% of all welfare calls last summer? This is a completely preventable issue, and one which is causing hundreds of dogs (often loved pets) to suffer.
Here are some quick facts to share with the dog owners in your life:
👉 The temperature inside a car can heat to over 50°C in less than 15 minutes.
👉 Parking in the shade and cracking windows does little to help on a warm day. Dogs rely on panting to keep cool, which they can't do in a hot car.
👉 This puts dogs at a high risk of heatstroke - a serious condition for dogs, with a mortality rate between 39%-50%.
👉 It is an offence under the Animal Welfare Act to leave a dog in a hot vehicle if they are showing signs of heat stress. You can be fined, and prosecuted.
SPCA has created downloadable resources to help you spread the message even further. Posters, a flyer, and a social media tile can be downloaded from our website here: www.spca.nz...
We encourage you to use these - and ask your local businesses to display the posters if they can. Flyers can be kept in your car and handed out as needed.
This is a community problem, and one we cannot solve alone. Help us to prevent more tragedies this summer by sharing this post.
On behalf of the animals - thank you ❤️
Worst Xmas ever?
There's a a lot of planning that goes into Christmas day and sometimes things just don't go to plan. But it can be a good thing - a family mishap or hilarious memory that you can laugh about in Christmases to come.
Whether you burnt the dinner or were stranded at an airport...
Share your Christmas mishaps below!