Work on rebuilding the Rawene Carpark in Birkenhead are well underway, but unfortunately the completion date has been delayed from July to September/October. (photo taken 30 May)
Below is today’s update from the project team:

What is happening over the next couple of weeks?
The major earthworks required to stabilise the landslide at Rawene Reserve is now complete. Thank you all for your patience whilst the heavy machinery has been tracking up around the slope. We appreciate this has been noisy and disruptive at times.
The remaining work being carried out at the moment is to complete the new retaining wall, drainage, surfacing (tar seal), line painting, signage and lighting for the new access road, pavements and car park areas. You will be pleased to see the new car park taking shape over the next few weeks.

Programme:
As with any construction contract, we have faced a number of challenges that have unfortunately delayed us opening the new lower level car park on the intended schedule of late July 2019. These challenges have included the time required to import and compact a large amount of fill in a tightly constrained site, weather, Council consenting requirements and long lead-in times for some of the construction materials.
We are, however, committed to delivering the new access lane and existing car park back to the public by the 7th September. The full (that is existing-upper and new-lower) car park will open late September or early October. Again, we thank you for your continued patience and good will.

Carpark use: Closures and Reopening:
The existing car park will have to remain closed until the re-establishment of the access lane is complete. This is because we need space to safely import the materials required to fill behind the retaining wall that you can currently see being constructed.
We will also be contacting private land owners with regards to closing access to the area behind Mokoia Rd shops again for a short period only whilst we place tar seal and new kerbs etc. along the new access lane.

Winter Weather:
The majority of the weather dependent work during winter is always fraught with difficulty, in particular, the laying of tar seal. (Warm ground temperatures help asphalt to set and stick to the ground surface.) We will continue to make sure all the appropriate resources are available so that we can make the most of all weather windows.

Future Work:
With regards to the next phase of work (Phase 3) we are still investigating options for the gully and will provide more information as it becomes available. Please note that we will consult with the public on options for the final shaping, replanting and use of the gully.
At present we do not anticipate that the Phase 3 works will affect the Rawene Car Park. This is because we intend to seek permission to access the site from the lower part of the gully and work up from there.

Construction Times Reminder:
All vehicle movements, on and off site, are going to be restricted to normal construction hours (these times are also provided by the resource consent to carry out these works). These times are as follows:

Monday to Friday:

• 6.30am to 7.30am, low level noise activities only
• 7.30am to 6pm, construction work
• 6pm to 8pm, work can continue, but no noisy work
  Saturday:
• 7.30am to 6pm (although work does not usually proceed after midday)

Sundays and public holidays:

• No noisy construction work at any point. Site visits may occur on these days

Please do contact us on this email rawene@aucklandcouncil.govt.nz if you have any queries.