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The Project Continues

The National War Memorial Park and Underpass has continued to take shape since the first field trip in November 2013.

Overview of the first field trip

  • You visited the Memorial Park Information Centre to learn about the history of the area.
  • You met the Minister for Culture and Heritage, Chris Finlayson. He talked about the vision for Memorial Park and how it came about.
  • You explored inside the National War Memorial – the tall Carillon tower with bells.
  • You had a look over the construction site.
  • You found out what has been done to lessen the impacts of the works on local people.
  • Some of the construction challenges were looked into, such as: moving underground services (eg water pipes and electrical cables); managing storm and groundwater.
  • Seeing the construction process with a further look at digging the trench. You also looked at construction of the trench retaining walls.

Progress on the underpass since the first field trip

  • Turning the 300 metre trench into the National War Memorial Underpass has progressed. Piles, walls, floor and roof have been formed from steel-reinforced concrete. The underpass will be strong enough to withstand a 1-in-2500 year earthquake.
  • The tunnel part of the trench runs for 130 metres with a roof over the top. It will be a one-way road.
  • Piles: 94 piles have been put in from 10-30 metres deep. The piles are made from steel reinforcing and concrete with a bell-shape at the bottom. This is the best way to hold the tunnel in place during a 1-in-2500 year earthquake.
  • Floor: Steel reinforcing and concreting of the tunnel floor should be finished by the end of May 2014.
  • The floor is poured in 10m sections. Each section has up to 150 cubic metres of concrete.
  • Walls: Steel reinforcing and concreting of the trench walls should be finished by the end of June 2014.
  • Roof: Steel reinforcing and concreting of the roof began in March 2014. It is poured in 10 metre long parts. Each part contains 300 tonnes of concrete.

The Home of Compassion Crèche

The historic Home of Compassion Crèche on the corner of Buckle Street will be restored and relocated. It will become a feature of the National War Memorial Park.

The crèche is being strengthened for the move.

The move will be done in three parts. The first phase will see the crèche moving on rails to the back of the site. This should happen in mid-May 2014.

The Memorial Park Alliance will restore the outside of the crèche. The crèche will be strengthened to earthquake standard.

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You can see the tops of the piles that help to anchor the underpass floor in place. Image: NZTA.

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Steel reinforcement is put in place before pouring concrete on the underpass floor. Image: NZTA.

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Thousands of tonnes of concrete is being used for the underpass. Image: NZTA.

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The concrete needs a smooth finish before the asphalt road surface is put down. Image: NZTA.

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Pouring of the concrete roof spans has started. Image: NZTA.

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The historic Home of Compassion Crèche on the corner of Buckle St will be restored and relocated. Image: NZTA.

Visit the latest Memorial Park Publication for progress on the National War Memorial Park and Underpass.

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