The New Constellation Bus Station
Changes are happening on the northern busway involving an upgrade to the Constellation Bus Station. It now features pick up and drop off zones in both north and southbound directions with a pedestrian over-bridge for pedestrians to access the northern platform.
The Waka Kotahi New Zealand Transport Agency project is being managed by the Northern Corridor Improvements Alliance as part of the overall $700 million Northern Corridor Improvements project.
Brosnan Construction engaged Metalhartt Roofing for the roofing and cladding aspects of this challenging development and the work is on-going as it heads towards completion.
Sections of the old roofing were removed first to allow builders access to the framework for the extension left and right of the existing station.
The main curve in the roof design of the bus station is not a perfect curve; there are three different radii in the main curve, calling for some novel methods to ensure the most accurate measure of what was required could be supplied to the manufacturer Roofing Industries.
The umbrella of the profiles Eurostyle™ Epic™ saw Eurostyle roll cap in ColorCote® grey flannel specified for the curved roof requiring precise attention to achieve the perfect curve while flatter areas of the roof have been finished with Roofing Industries’ Trimrib®.
Brothers Blake and Tyler Orange, joint owners of Metalhartt Roofing devised a way to ensure the most accurate measure possible for the curve. Using a 10m x 3m sheet of building paper and creating a frame to ensure the paper was stretched and flat, they traced a template of the curve to gain the most accurate measure. This was supplied to Roofing Industries Waikato and the curved sheets were produced first time – faultlessly.
The structural curved elements of the Eurostyle Epic profile landed first on the ground where the builders installed framing and plywood and it was at this stage that the curved template was created for the manufacturer. Once this structure, assembled on the ground was craned into position the sheets were then installed.
This positioning of the curved steel structure was loaded into position on Auckland Anniversary weekend when the northern bus lane was closed on Sunday evening for Brosnan Construction to crane material to the overbridge and secure the curved steel structure.
“The lesson we learned from this exercise was the importance of getting the preparation right”, says Blake Orange. “This was one continuous radius on the curve forever changing as you go down the sheet – a staggered pattern which we knew had to be 100% accurate for the manufacturer.
“We spent a lot of time making the frame to ensure the building paper would be flat when we traced a template of the curve – it was painstaking but was key to the success of the whole process. Looking at it now the curved structures are architecturally very appealing”.
A challenge for the Metalhartt team and lead installers Nick James and Darryn Jones was the need to abseil down the curves to install the vertical sheets but it was opportune that the company’s Joe O’Flynn had a background in rock climbing and rigging so was able to set up a harness system to allow access to unreachable areas safely.
The size and awkward shape of the curve meant deliveries to site had to be carefully managed: the sheets were craned onto the overbridge for the Metalhartt team to install but this aspect of the contract required some improvisation to ensure safety requirements were met.
Remaining aspects of the northern busway project have included 75m of bus stop shelters installed, and supply and installation of all fascias which are being produced in 3mm powder coated aluminium. The architectural design specifies the fascias to be made in 2m lengths with 5mm negative details at the joins which then required an under flashing for waterproofing.
Several stainless steel downpipes have been fabricated and installed to support the gutters which are now taking on more water due to the addition of new areas to the roof.