Dame Whina’s daughter, Hinerangi Puru Cooper, at CRL’s unveiling of the TBM named in her mother’s honour.
“Bloody amazing!”
To me, those two words perfectly sum up City Rail Link’s year in 2020. Equally, that Crowded House song, “Four Seasons In One Day”, is a very fitting reminder of how rapidly things change – a year that began with high expectations, unexpectedly took a Covid turn for the worse, and is ending on a very positive high reflecting what is unique about New Zealand/Aotearoa!
At the start of the year, I was talking about CRL starting a massive voyage into uncertainty and engineering complexity – a reference then to a new phase of construction challenges and hard mahi (work) ahead as construction ramped up and long before I or anyone else was aware of a virus called Covid-19 and the impact it would have on the project and the wider infrastructure industry.
No one had planned for a pandemic in their construction “rule book” and CRL’s went out the window immediately with Covid’s arrival.
In many ways, we had to start from scratch redesigning the way we would deliver New Zealand’s largest ever transport infrastructure project in a Covid world after the lockdown. Our Risk Register now, for example, looks nothing like the one we had before the pandemic.
CRL’s response to covid highlights the value of the alliance model for delivery. It gave us an agile and flexible response to Covid. I believe we came out of the starting blocks and regained construction momentum quicker than most other big infrastructure projects after New Zealand’s covid lockdown closed all construction sites.
Nevertheless, Covid continues to cast a shadow. Production can’t be stopped for 28 days, as it was during the level four lockdown, without an impact on project costs and timetables. The full impacts won’t be known for some time.
One of the biggest challenges involves international workers with the skills and experience not available locally. An effective relationship with Government and its officials enabled us to get most of those needed across the border. Those discussions continue for the next tranche needed as work ramps up.
There is one thing Covid failed to do - dampen some CRL celebrations: leaving behind better places for Aucklander as early contracts end, preserving the city’s past as construction progresses, completing a successful CRL-related station redevelopment with KiwiRail, and winning international recognition for technology innovation.
The biggest celebration of all was an emotional and uplifting one for me, reflecting what is unique about this country.
Our Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM) is being reassembled by the Link Alliance at the Mt Eden site after its arrival from China.
Around the world there’s a tradition machines like this carry the name of an outstanding woman. We ran an internet vote and New Zealanders chose Dame Whina Cooper, the Māori champion whose tireless influence did much to not only help her people but to change our country so that, in her words, “we should live as one nation in Aotearoa.”
Growing up in the 1970s it’s hard for me not to recall her achievements and I truly believe that Aotearoa/New Zealand would be a far lesser place today without Dame Whina’s wisdom, leadership and courage – remember, she was 80 when she out on her 1975 land march from the far north down to the steps of Parliament.
When we officially unveiled the TBM to Auckland – an event enriched by the blend of Māori tradition and modern-day speech-making - we did so with the blessing and generous support of Dame Whina’s whanau for us to use the name of this great whaea and Kuia.
It was equally fitting that we unveiled Dame Whina Cooper on the very day when the protector of all those who work underground – St Barbara – is celebrated religiously.
Dame Whina was a tremendous ground-breaker and in an engineering sense CRL will do the same – New Zealand’s biggest transport infrastructure project will change Auckland in a big way.
The TBM Dame Whina Cooper will be begin excavating tunnels into central Auckland next April – clear evidence that the months and years ahead will continue to be “bloody amazing” as we progress CRL at pace to make the city a better place.