Time-lapse video shows Glen Innes to Tāmaki Drive rail bridge taking shape

Wednesday, 21 April 2021

A time-lapse video has been released which shows how the new Glenn Innes to Tāmaki Drive rail bridge is coming together.

Progress on a new rail bridge for walking and cycling between Glen Innes and Tāmaki Drive has been captured in a new time-lapse video.

Twelve beams, weighing up to 62 tonnes and some more than 30 metres in length, were installed using a 400 tonne mobile crane over Easter to form the base of the project.

The 7km route will enable people to walk, run or cycle from the eastern suburbs to the city centre, and is being delivered by Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency and Auckland Transport.

A new time-lapse has captured the progress over Easter on a shared path for walking and cycling between Glen Innes and Tāmaki Drive.

Waka Kotahi spokesperson Andy Thackwray said the bridge will allow people to safely cross the rail line and provide magnificent views of the Pourewa Valley and along the Pourewa Stream towards the city.

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'With rail lines needing to be closed in order to carry out work on the rail network, 42 people worked tirelessly over the long weekend,” he said.

“They clocked up to 2170 work hours in a mammoth effort to construct the bridge and keep disruption to a minimum.'

The shared path is being constructed in four different sections.

Section 2 provides a connection for people walking or riding their bikes and scooters between St Johns Road and Ōrākei Basin, and links Sections 1 and 3 which are already completed.

Contractors are now installing edge panels before a concrete deck slab will be poured. Section 2 is expected to be completed by mid-2022, with Section 1 and 3 having already been completed.

Section 4 of the shared path, which links Tāmaki Drive with Orakei Basin, has had funding approved and a consent lodged. A detailed design is currently underway.

Thackwray said mitigating the environmental impact of the project was import to Waka Kotahi.

'We take extra care and have processes in place when we are working near streams, so that we protect the waterway and the life within it,” he said.

'We will also be helping to rehabilitate the Pourewa Valley by planting natives to provide better tree cover for the local wildlife.'

The team has worked through a number of long weekends and on public holidays such as Labour Day, Christmas, New Year and Easter to be able to get the works completed near the rail corridor.

Significant progress has been made to date with earthworks, intersection upgrades, fencing, slip remediation and pest plant removal carried out alongside the construction of the path and boardwalk.