Beneath Quay Street: A New Zealand First in Stormwater Infrastructure
About the project: Climate change has caused unprecedented disruption in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland in recent years, with regular flooding becoming an ongoing and serious issue. The award-winning Ports of Auckland Outfall Upgrade project addresses this problem, transforming the way the city deals with flooding and playing a pivotal role in enhancing stormwater infrastructure resilience, mitigating flood risks, and setting the city up for future growth and development.
Having previously completed several successful MSQA projects for Auckland Council, Stellar Projects was placed at the helm of this groundbreaking project, taking on Engineer to Contract, Engineer’s Representative, Engineer’s Representative Assistant and Project Management roles. Stakeholder engagement and rock-solid teamwork played a critical role in project success – not only in regard to ongoing and regular liaison with Ports of Auckland and Auckland Council, but with the myriad of other stakeholders impacted by the project.
Construction of the stormwater culvert near the KiwiRail corridor meant ongoing consultation with KiwiRail was required to manage access requirements, and monitor rail infrastructure and settlement. We also worked closely with local iwi Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei, as well as Mobil and AT to minimise the impact of the project on their day-to-day operations.
Challenges
2023 dished up its fair share of project challenges – salt was washed into the inlet shaft during the Auckland Anniversary Weekend big rain event and in September a major sewer line collapse in Ōrākei put the brakes on construction. But we made good use of our time, utilising these unexpected delays to get a head start on preparatory work on the existing box culvert.
A project of this scope and magnitude is highly complex, requiring excellent communication, documentation, monitoring – and some smart ideas. To ensure smooth sailing we held weekly meetings with the contractor and principal (including onsite walk-throughs to view progress), fortnightly meetings with Ports of Auckland, and quarterly Project Control Group meetings. Not only that, but we developed an invaluable project tracker tool to ensure the high volume of variations, consent conditions and access agreements were easily accessible and in one place. By managing documentation in this way we significantly boosted efficiency and streamlined processes.
Highlights
Stellar Projects is proud to have played an integral part in the successful completion of this project, which is a gamechanger for Auckland and opens up a new realm of possibility for the city’s future development. And while awards don’t drive our work, it’s always a thrill when our projects are recognised. The Ports of Auckland Outfall Upgrade was recently named Project of the Year at the Stormwater Conference and Expo Gala, and is also currently a Construction Excellence awards finalist in the upcoming CCNZ Awards.
