Essential Mercury Lane Works As CRL Prepares For The Future

Maximising the benefits that a completed Karanga-a-Hape Station will bring to the city centre when City Rail Link (CRL) opens will require a temporary closure of sections of Mercury Lane for necessary works to safeguard the neighbourhood’s future power supplies.

The initial closure starts next Monday, 15 April, at the southern end of the lane, from the southern corner of Cross Street / Mercury Lane, to just above the Wilson parking building entry / exit on Mercury Lane. This section of work is expected to take two weeks.

The other sections of work are at the Cross Street / Mercury Lane intersection and at the northern section of Mercury Lane, from Cross Street to Karangahape Road. The temporary closures are expected to continue until late-June.

Clearly signposted routes will be in place to ensure drivers continued access to the car park building and local apartments and businesses. Pedestrian access is not affected. Cyclists are asked to walk their wheels.

The closure will allow CRL’s main contractor, Link Alliance, to dig a 150-metre-long trench that will be used by electricity suppliers to futureproof power supplies.

“It’s a great opportunity to combine our present work in the area with wider needs and avoid the need for more road works and disruption in the future,” says Link Alliance Project Director Francois Dudouit.

The trench is 1.2 metres deep and 1.2 metres wide.

Full details of the work, including access routes, are available online at https://www.cityraillink.co.nz/karanga-a-hape-notifications

“Our priority is to minimise the impact of the closure, and keep road users safe while we complete essential work,” Mr Dudouit says. “We will have diversions in place to maintain access. Drivers who usually access Mercury Lane from Pitt Street or the Ponsonby end of Karangahape Road, in particular, should plan for more time to get to their destinations safely.”

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