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Source: NZPA / Ross Setford -
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Excavators have started the massive task of removing 16,000 cubic metres of rock and earth to form the trench for the Victoria Park Tunnel, designed to remove the last major bottleneck on the central Auckland motorway network.
The trench will be 700 metres long and will include a 450m tunnel running underneath Victoria Park.
The historic Birdcage Tavern had to be moved 40m up a hill to make way for the project.
It will be pushed back to its original location after six months.
New Zealand Transport Agency regional director for Auckland Wayne McDonald said the structure should be built and work moved underground by the time of next year's Rugby World Cup.
The tunnel is being built using the cut-and-cover method, which means the walls of the tunnel are built first followed by installation of roof beams, excavation of the tunnel trench below the beams, pouring the floor and roof panels, and finally the installation of tunnel operating systems and services.
The material being removed will be mainly natural marine sediment, the fill used to reclaim Freemans Bay in the early 1900s, and the underlying East Coast Bays sandstone.
