North Shore Times (New Zealand)
Crack in AT’s case, locals say
AT blames crack near construction site on stormwater pipes
Auckland Transport denies the cause of a large crack in Birkenhead’s Rawene car park is linked to adjacent construction work.
An already existing crack in the car park has become much more significant recently, and the ground on one side has dropped several inches, to the extent that AT closed the area off for safety reasons on September 20.
The closure resulted in a further loss of 25 public car parks, after having had already lost 25 spaces when AT leased them to the construction company, angering workers.
Auckland Transport’s Mark Hannan said Rawene car park was built on an embankment of fill, so AT doesn’t believe this incident is linked to the construction site.
However, a neighbouring worker, who did not want to be named said, the construction workers are extremely loud and when they drop things on site the building shakes.
‘‘So, I say bull .... to that,’’ said the worker.
Business owner Chris Ott said the newest closure means 50 per cent of the car park has now been lost.
‘‘It’s very annoying and frustrating for businesses,’’ Ott said.
He noticed the subsidence around three weeks ago, after construction workers had finished drilling.
Ott said it is very ‘‘coincidental’’ that the car park has been stable for the past 20 years, and now there is the slip.
Birkenhead worker Brian Cox said the car-parking issues have already been extremely disruptive.
Now, Auckland Transport has been ‘‘unreasonable’’ in their handling of this new situation, he added.
‘‘The crack has been there for some time, but only a very marginal subsidence. There has been a big drop in the last two weeks or so,’’ Cox said.
‘‘In my view, they could have done the surveying at the weekend, planned what they needed to do ... to minimise the amount of time that we are inconvenienced.’’
While AT apologises, it confirms, for the safety of car park users, the 25 car parks will remain cordoned off while a full assessment is done.
Hannan said a possible leak from the stormwater pipes could be the cause, but this will need to be confirmed by a CCTV inspection.
Ground conditions will also need to be investigated to determine depth of fill, he added.
Kaipatiki Local Board deputy chairman John Gillon said that unlike the 25 carparks already closed off, this recent closure needs to happen for safety.
‘‘It's very annoying and frustrating for businesses’’
Chris Ott, business owner