City Rail Link awarded 1st ‘Leading’ IS rating in NZ

City Rail Link awarded 1st ‘Leading’ IS rating in NZ

City Rail Link awarded 1st ‘Leading’ IS rating in NZ

The City Rail Link (CRL) has been awarded a ‘Leading’ IS Design rating, the highest possible achievement in the IS scheme.

The rating was awarded to Auckland Transport for the design and construction planning (with Connectus) of Contract 2 – Albert Street tunnels and a stormwater diversion.

To award a rating, ISCA considers project performance across six themes: Management & Governance; Using Resources; Emissions, Pollution & Waste; Ecology; People & Place; and Innovation. The process CRL has undertaken to engage and partner with Mana Whenua to embed cultural values into an industry recognised sustainability framework has been acknowledged as a ‘world first’ innovation.

CRL Project Director Chris Meale says AT worked closely with Mana Whenua to tailor the IS tool to suit not only the NZ context but the cultural context of Tamaki Makaurau. In the same vein that the CRL design is developing a cultural richness and sense of place with input from Mana Whenua.

“We are committed to setting the benchmark for sustainable design, construction and operation of infrastructure in New Zealand. The sheer scale and significance of CRL to this city and nation means taking a sustainable approach throughout the project lifecycle just makes sense. Today’s recognition tells us we’re on the right track to achieving our sustainability goals.

The submission to ISCA consisted of design documentation produced through the Early Contractor Involvement (ECI) phase with AT’s Principal Technical Advisors (Aurecon with Mott MacDonald, Jasmax, Grimshaw and Arup) and delivery partner Connectus, the McConnell Dowell/Hawkins joint venture.

Antony Sprigg, CEO ISCA, says the City Rail Link enabling work package achieved a rating score of 78.7, well above the 50 points required to gain an ‘Excellent’ rating.

“The CRL team put together a very high quality submission demonstrating well prepared management plans, good policies and procedures, opportunities for energy reduction and strong stakeholder engagement and Mana Whenua participation.

“It is clear that this project will achieve some excellent sustainability outcomes if all the good intentions and well-planned processes are implemented on the ground.”

Key CRL sustainability initiatives planned over the project lifetime include:

• Switching from diesel generators to grid electricity during construction
• The use of LED street-lighting for the Albert Street reinstatement
• Collaborating with EECA to train drivers and monitor machinery during construction to reduce fuel use
• Changing excavation methods to reduce diesel and water use
• Installing tree pits in the street to collect and filter stormwater runoff.