Relocating and certifying live water services beneath Albert Street to clear the way for the cut-and-cover tunnels at the heart of New Zealand's largest transport project.
- Client
- Watercare Services Limited
- Services
- Three waters · Construction monitoring & certification
- Location
- Albert Street, Auckland city centre
- Scale
- ~700 m watermain · 3.45 km rail link
- Status
- Complete 2020
01 / Project overview
The brief
The City Rail Link is New Zealand's largest transport infrastructure project: a 3.45 km underground rail link with twin tunnels up to 42 m below Auckland's city centre, connecting Britomart with Maungawhau (Mt Eden), and new underground stations at Te Waihorotiu (Aotea) and Karanga-a-Hape (Karangahape Road).
We were engaged on the C2 contract in Albert Street, where the cut-and-cover tunnel trench could only be built once major water supply and stormwater services had been moved out of the way. Relocating live services in a tightly constrained corridor in one of the city's busiest streets demanded careful sequencing and close coordination with the construction team.
02 / Our approach
How we delivered it
Watermain relocation
Almost 700 m of 180 mm PE watermain and service connections were upgraded, including valves and hydrants. We observed and certified the watermain works as they were built.
Cutovers and shutdowns
Moving customers onto new mains meant every cutover and shutdown had to be planned in stages. We managed that staging with Watercare and the contractor to keep disruption to businesses and residents along Albert Street to a minimum.
Quality assurance on a changing site
We ran quality assurance and certification testing on the new pipework before it went into service. In a crowded corridor full of existing services, layouts often had to change on the day, so our engineers made quick, sound decisions on site to keep work moving.
Clearing the way for the tunnels
The C2 works also included relocating a major stormwater line in Albert Street and strengthening a section of the Ōrākei Main Sewer. With the services moved, the cut-and-cover trench between Wyndham and Customs Streets, and the twin tunnels within it, could be built.
03 / The outcome
“By relocating and certifying the water services beneath Albert Street, we helped clear the path for the tunnels at the heart of the City Rail Link, which opened to passengers in September 2026.”
05 / Gallery
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