Auckland's CRL route identified
4 July 2012A proposed route through the city centre for Auckland's City Rail Link (CRL) - from the Britomart terminus under Albert Street in the central city to the suburb of Mt Eden - will affect 210 properties, Auckland Transport revealed yesterday.
Auckland Transport is now making contact with directly affected landowners prior to seeking planning protection for the route. The CRL will be built in two 3.5km long, twin tunnels up to 45m below the city. As much as possible, the project will be built below city streets to reduce the effects on property owners and city heritage buildings.
"Our priority is to let property owners directly affected by the City Rail Link know about the route first and then we'll engage with wider interests," said David Warburton, chief executive, Auckland Transport. "Our focus is on protecting a route for the CRL. We first want to work with landowners to help ensure they are well informed and to help us understand their issues. Property purchase is a second step."
Warburton added: "We are aware that property owners adjacent to the CRL will want to know more about future construction impacts such as noise, vibration and access. We will explain these over the next few months and address them at a greater level of detail in future design and resource consent processes."
Planning and property acquisition will take several years, in which time the Auckland Council will try to persuade the government to share the USD 1.93bn cost of the project. Property purchases will begin in two years.
