Business North November 2021

60 | “Being family owned our focus is on people and establishing good lines of communication with clients and stakeholders. Tunnel boring machine starts 4-year mission from page 58 Watercare: Central Interceptor to page 62 He says the objective is to reduce crew inter- action as much as possible, so they are in site ‘bubbles’ to prevent spread if a positive case crops up. “Temperatures are taken before staff arrive on site. And we’ve brought in new mandatory testing.” The Central Interceptor project took more than 10 years to plan and design. Watercare has been responsible for the de- sign of overall system hydraulic and pneumat- ic design; pump station and ancillaries; drop shafts; connection chambers and piping. Arup has designed the tunnels and shafts and Beca has provided environmental and consenting support to the project. GA-JV brings more than over 150 years of international tunnelling expertise. It has successfully completed numerous large projects across the world and offers extensive tunnelling expertise and experience working on major water and wastewater projects. Francesco says that as both companies are family owned this has been a benefit to the Central Interceptor project. “Being family owned our focus is on people and establishing good lines of communication with clients and stakeholders. “This has built trust and proved a good foundation to solve any issues and challeng- es as they come up so we can find the right solutions.” Two new link sewers will connect with the main tunnel and construction is a well under- way for the first link sewer, which will travel from May Road, Mount Roskill to Miranda Reserve in Avondale. Under normal working conditions, approximately 40-60 staff work on the May Road site each day, supported Spare Parts CPE provides a superior level of expertise, technical assistance, maintenance advice & training programs. We offer longer lasting, better-performing machinery & spare parts. For expert advice on your next project give us a call. Visit us online at www.goactive.nz | Email us at admin@goactive.nz | Reach us by phone on 09 555 7741 New Zealand’s most progressive Electrical Supplier New Zealand Owned & Operated Suppliers of Quality Electrical and Communications Products to Electrical & Data Contractors and Industries throughout New Zealand by another 20 engineering teams and other contractors. A 12-metre long micro-TBM called ‘Do- menica’, is doing the digging. A pipe-jacking method of construction is being used to lay the 2.1-metre diameter pipe sections. Over four months 328 pipe sections will be laid for the first drive. The second link sewer is 1.5 kilometres and will start near the Mt Albert War Memorial to the Ōrākei sewer main in Rawalpindi Reserve. Hiwa-i-te-Rangi is an Earth Pressure Balance TBM. The front of the machine is pressurized in order to control groundwater and the TBM is powered by thrust cylinders, which press the cutterhead into the ground. Spoil passes through openings in the cutter- head, along a screw conveyor and conveyor belts, which tip into muck skips. Muck skips are sent down the tunnel by electric locomo- tive before being removed by crane. Most of the spoil will be deposited at nearby Puketutu Island, where Watercare is carrying out a res- toration project with the aim of returning the island to the people of Auckland as a park. Francesco says the Central Interceptor project is vast and complex involving between 400-600 staff working on eight sites across Auckland. Eventually 16 sites will be operating. INFRASTRUCTURE