An independent structural consultant has been pulled in to sort the construction problems on the Harington Street carpark.
Work on the carpark has ceased until Holmes Consulting deals with what the council calls 'detailed design issues” to council's expectation.
Holmes will provide advice on how to address issues council is concerned about.
The council's general manager of infrastructure, Nic Johansson, says it became clear at a recent meeting with Harrison Grierson and Holmes Consulting, that challenges with the detailed design on some components have not been dealt with to council's expectation.
The three parties are working together to resolve the issues as quickly as possible so construction can resume.
'Council is extremely committed to this user funded project, as it's about building an asset for the community that will enhance parking capacity.”
The impact on costs for the new carpark and who is responsibility for covering those costs hasn't yet been determined. The expected completion date has been pushed from early-2020 to mid-2020.
In May, council was told by structural designers, Harrison Grierson, of a recommended design change relating to the seismic joints used in the construction of the carpark. Seismic joints are essential in absorbing the natural movement of buildings during earthquakes.
The design change to include additional seismic joints would allow different parts of the building to move independently of each other and changes the way loads move through the structure.
Construction on the carpark began in June 2018.
It will have 550 car spaces, 250 bicycle spaces including 15 mobility parking spaces, and 53 motorbikes.
The building will also include electric charge points for cars and bikes. The parking building is thought to be the first of its kind in New Zealand to include a dedicated bike area making biking easier for city commuters.
The bike hub will not only offer parking, but also includes showers and gear storage to make it easier for people who want to bike to the city centre.
5 comments
WHO PAYS??
Posted on 08-11-2019 12:09 | By The Caveman
Just ONE word ---------- RATEPAYERS !!
Council again
Posted on 08-11-2019 15:31 | By GWHtpt
Having done many a construction jobs for the council it’s clear they need a overhaul. They do not care about costs and have not commonsense when it comes to reality. There’s a lot of pecking order egos when reality is they are thick as!!!
PPP
Posted on 08-11-2019 17:09 | By Slim Shady
Earthquakes and seismic joints have been around a while. Did somebody just think about it half way through the job?!
Not good enough
Posted on 08-11-2019 18:38 | By The Sage
It was my understanding, a couple of months ago, that the road would be opened until this lot was sorted out. They won't need the parks by the time this is finished as Elvis will have well and truly left the building.
It's simple.
Posted on 09-11-2019 19:02 | By morepork
Whoever screwed up, pays to fix it. I agree 100% with Slim Shady, here. Why should it fall on the "bottomless pit" of Ratepayers, just because there IS a bottomless pit of Ratepayers? And, I for one, am getting pretty tired of incompetent decisions by our elected representatives. If they don't know what they're doing and they don't have the brains to employ people who do, then why are we required to foot the bill for their mistakes? What happened to "Do it once, do it right"? Very large sums of money are changing hands here; we have a right to expect proper design and due diligence.
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