CONSTRUCTION UPDATE – 31 AUGUST 2010

Posted on Sep 8, 2010 in Construction Update - 2010, Featured

A) CONSTRUCTION

On 8 June 2010, Phase 1 of the Gautrain System was opened for commercial service. The first phase operations include the airport train service between Sandton Station and OR Tambo International Airport, a commuter service between Sandton and Rhodesfield – with an intermediate stop at Marlboro Station – as well as dedicated feeder and distribution bus services to and from the Sandton and Rhodesfield Stations. The Operations Control Centre, together with the Train and Bus Depot facilities located just south of Allandale Road in the Midrand area, were also completed as part of the first phase scope of works.

The remaining sections of Sandton Station required for the Phase 2 operations will be completed by December 2010. These works include completion of the podium slab over the station complex, the remaining 2/3 of the parking facilities, the third platform to service the southbound line to the Rosebank and Park stations, an undercover taxi terminus and the final reinstatement of Rivonia Road.

Monthly Construction Updates now focus on progress of the Gautrain Phase 2 works, comprising the underground section between Sandton Station and Park Station and the route between Midrand Station and Hatfield Station.

1. Underground section

Within the Phase 2 tunnel section between Sandton Station and Johannesburg Park Station, civil works are approaching completion and the installation of mechanical and electrical equipment is well advanced. Tracklaying within the completed tunnel is progressing southwards from Sandton.

The underground works also include the construction of seven emergency access shafts located at intervals along the single-track rail tunnel between Park Station and Sandton Station. These shafts will provide emergency services personnel access to the tunnels below. At the bottom of certain of these shafts there will be safe havens where passengers can gather in case of an emergency. Construction works are ongoing at each of these emergency access shafts.

PARK STATION

Access stairway to the platform area of Johannesburg Park Station

Construction of Johannesburg Park Station parkade and the reinstated Smit Street

At Park Station, construction of the cut-and-cover section linking the northern end of the station box to the tunnel portal is ongoing. Within the station itself, internal finishes are well advanced and mechanical and electrical works are ongoing. Cladding of the structural steel entrance pavilion on the southern side of Wolmarans Street is substantially complete and construction of the ventilation structure on the northern side of Smit Street is ongoing.

At the parkade structure – located above the station – all six decks are complete and erection of precast parapets is approaching completion.

Reinstatement of Wolmarans Street is complete, as is the reinstatement of Smit Street, where two lanes were opened to traffic on 08 August 2010.

EMERGENCY ACCESS SHAFT E1 (HILLBROW)

Construction works at Shaft E1 are substantially complete, with external finishings and landscaping in progress.

EMERGENCY ACCESS SHAFT E2 (THE WILDS, HOUGHTON)

Construction activities within the safe haven at Emergency Shaft 2

The tunnel between Rosebank and Park Station at Emergency Shaft 2 (The Wilds, Houghton)

Construction activities within the safe haven and technical rooms located at the bottom of this shaft are substantially complete, as is installation of the structural steelwork access structure within the shaft itself. Construction of the surface head house building is in progress.

EMERGENCY ACCESS SHAFT E3 (RIVIERA)

The surface head house structure is complete and external works and landscaping are in progress. Being a shallow shaft with direct access to the surface, there is no safe haven necessary at the bottom of this shaft.

EMERGENCY ACCESS SHAFT E4 (HOUGHTON)

The surface head house structure is substantially complete, with only minor finishing works remaining. External works have commenced and landscaping will follow in the coming weeks. Like E3, being a shallow shaft with direct access to the surface, there is no safe haven necessary at the bottom of this shaft.

ROSEBANK STATION

M&E installation on concourse level at Rosebank Station

Construction of the parkade at Rosebank Station

At Rosebank Station, works within the underground areas are in a similar state of completion to Park Station, with internal finishes well advanced and mechanical and electrical installations in progress.

The main entrance to the station and the parkade structure are located on the eastern side of Oxford Road. Construction of these is ongoing, with the final level of the three level parkade approaching completion. There will be two other entrances to the underground station on the western side of Oxford Road. Lateral support and excavation at the southern entrance are complete and these activities are also well advanced at the northern entrance.

The phased reinstatement of Oxford Road over the station is ongoing, with the first section having been opened to traffic towards the end of June 2010 and the second phase opened to traffic during August 2010. The road reinstatement is being carried out on a phased basis to enable the two station entrances and the ventilation structure located on the western side of Oxford Road to be constructed. Oxford Road is scheduled to be reinstated to its orinal two-way configuration by the end of March next year.

EMERGENCY ACCESS SHAFT E5 (DUNKELD, ROSEBANK)

Construction of the safe haven and technical rooms located at the bottom of this shaft is complete, as is the installation of the structural steelwork access structure within the shaft itself. Construction of the surface head house building has commenced and the temporary sound-mitigating structure that has been in place during the underground construction operations will be removed once this building is complete.

EMERGENCY ACCESS SHAFT E6 (ILLOVO)

Construction of the safe haven and technical rooms located at the bottom of this shaft is substantially complete and mechanical and electrical installations are ongoing. The tower crane that has serviced the underground construction works is no longer required, so has recently been dismantled.

EMERGENCY ACCESS SHAFT E7 (WESTERN SIDE OF RIVONIA ROAD, SANDTON)

Construction of the safe haven and technical rooms located at the bottom of this shaft is complete. Installation of the structural steelwork access structure within the shaft itself has also now been completed. Construction of the surface head house building will commence shortly.

2. Northern Section (Depot to Hatfield station

DEPOT TO MIDRAND, INCLUDING VIADUCT 3 OVER ALLENDALE ROAD

Between the Depot and Midrand Station, all construction works and bridge structures, including Viaduct 3 crossing Allendale Road, are complete, as are all railway installations.

MIDRAND STATION

Midrand Station concourse

Constructed Midrand Station platforms

At Midrand Station, construction and building works are substantially complete, as are the internal finishes and mechanical and electrical installations. The railway tracks have been laid through the station and platform tiling is complete. The external works to the carparks, bus terminus area and attenuation pond are also approaching completion, with minor areas of brick paving, the palisade boundary fence adjacent to the K101 and completion of the landscaping being the only items outstanding. The new section of Grand Central Boulevard that provides access to the station from the Old Pretoria Road (K101) is complete, but will only be opened to public traffic when station operations commence.

MIDRAND TO CENTURION, INCLUDING VIADUCT 4 OVER RIETSPRUIT AND OLIFANTSFONTEIN ROAD SOUTH

From Midrand Station to Centurion, all construction works and bridge structures, including Viaduct 4 crossing over Rietspruit and Olifantsfontein Road South, are complete. Tracklaying operations and the installation of associated railway infrastructure in this area are well advanced along the full length of this section.

CENTURION AREA, INCLUDING VIADUCT 5 OVER THE N1 AND BEN SCHOEMAN HIGHWAYS AND CENTURION STATION

Viaduct 5 alongside the constructed embankment at John Vorster Avenue

Viaduct 5 over John Voster Avenue in Centurion

Construction of all three of the Centurion viaducts is now complete. These comprise Viaduct 5b – the balanced cantilever viaduct crossing the N1 and the John Vorster Interchange, Viaduct 5c – the approximately 3 km long segmental viaduct that carries the elevated Gautrain railway lines through Centurion and supports the Centurion Station platforms midway along its length and Viaduct 5d – the second balanced cantilever viaduct – that crosses the Ben Schoeman highway and the Jean Avenue Interchange. Tracklaying operations and the installation of associated railway infrastructure are now under way across all of these structures.

Centurion Station facade and construction of the parkade

M&E instalations on concourse level at Centurion Station

The Centurion Station platforms are elevated and are located on Viaduct 5c, which runs immediately adjacent and parallel to West Street. The concourse buildings and parking area are at ground level. Buillding and civil construction work at Centurion station is substantially complete. Within the station buildings, internal finishings and M&E works are also nearing completion. Externally, carpark construction is ongoing, with final layer works, drainage, kerbing and erection of structural steel canopies in progress. The bus management building and the perimeter palisade boundary wall are well advanced.

CENTURION TO PRETORIA, INCLUDING VIADUCT 6 OVER EEUFEES ROAD

Civil construction works along this section of the route – which include extensive earthworks, a number of bridges, U-shape structures through the military area and Viaduct 6 crossing Eeufees Road – are substantially complete. Remaining works include completion of the on-ramp onto the N14, trimming of embankments and the completion of landscaping activities. Tracklaying operations and the installation of associated railway infrastructure are currently in progress along the full length of this section of the route, around Salvokop and up to the approach to Pretoria Station.

PRETORIA STATION

Entrance to Pretoria Station

M&E installation on concourse level at Pretoria Station

At Pretoria Station, civil construction works for the station buildings are complete. Internal finishings and electrical and mechanical works are well advanced and the installation of fare gates and associated station equipment is in progress.

Refurbishment of the historically significant loco shed, which has been incorporated into the Gautrain station design, is substantially complete.

Work continues in the public parking and bus areas, with final earthworks, drainage activities, kerbing and final layer works in progress. Construction of the perimeter palisade boundary wall is substantially complete. Upgrading of the adjacent municipal roads in the vicinity of the station entrance and exit routes has recently commenced.

PRETORIA TO HATFIELD, INCLUDING VIADUCT 7 OVER NELSON MANDELA BOULEVARD

Viaduct 7 comprises a set of “Y-shaped” viaducts and flyovers that carry the Gautrain railway lines into Pretoria Station from the south and then across Nelson Mandela Boulevard and the adjacent PRASA railway network towards Hatfield. Construction of all of these structures is substantially complete and the installation of trackwork and associated railway infrastructure across the decks will follow shortly.

Between Pretoria Station and Hatfield Station, a number of bridges crossing the existing PRASA railway line have been either widened or lengthened to accommodate the adjacent Gautrain tracks. Most of these bridges have already been completed and reopened to traffic, with minor finishing works to the remaining structures ongoing. The extensive lateral support works in cuttings, together with the earthworks and construction of the retaining structures necessary to widen the existing embankments, are well advanced. Construction of dividing walls between the Gautrain and PRASA railway lines, final layerworks, drainage works and the erection of noise barriers and boundary fencing are ongoing along the full length of this section, with these activities scheduled to be completed by year end.

HATFIELD STATION

Roof cladding and façade glazing for the contruction of the concourse at Hatfield

M&E instlations on concourse level at Hatfield Station

At Hatfield Station, concourse construction is ongoing, with structural steelwork erection complete, roof cladding in progress and façade glazing well advanced. Floor and wall tiling and internal finishes are in progress and platform construction below the concourse slab is ongoing. Mechanical and electrical installations and finishing works within the parkade structure are well advanced. At the adjacent bus terminus area, the bus management building is substantially complete and earthworks and canopy support structures are in progress. Construction of the new Grosvenor Street bridge is complete, but will only be opened to public traffic when station operations commence.

B) OVERALL PROGRESS

Construction started at the end of September 2006. Gautrain will be completed in two phases:

1. The first phase was initially planned to be of a 45 months contractual duration, but was completed three weeks ahead of this, on 08 June 2010. It includes the network between the OR Tambo International Airport and Sandton and includes the stations at OR Tambo, Rhodesfield, Marlboro and Sandton, together with the Depot and Operations Control Centre located near Allandale Road in Midrand.

2. The second phase, being constructed concurrently, will be completed in 54 months, during 2011. It includes the remainder of the rail network and stations linking Sandton to Park Station in Johannesburg and the route from Midrand to Hatfield.

Toll-free call centre: 0800-GAUTRAIN (0800-42887246). The call centre is operational weekdays between 7am and 7pm with an answering system after-hours. Communities are reminded that regular Community Liaison Forums are held in affected areas.