It took seven months to fix faults on the new pedestrian crossing in Grey Lynn. Alex Burton
It took seven months to fix faults on the new pedestrian crossing in Grey Lynn. Alex Burton
Faulty work on a raised pedestrian crossing in the Auckland suburb of Grey Lynn crossing was picked up during construction, but it took seven months before the problems were fixed.
The Herald can also reveal that the same contractor on the Grey Lynn project had to return months later after building another pedestrian crossing project in Balmoral to complete the job.
The contractor on both jobs was TSL (Transport Services Limited). TSL general manager of traffic systems, Tom Lott, declined to answer questions about the two projects, directing inquiries to Auckland Transport.
It took seven months before a "stuff-up" at the Williamson Ave pedestrian crossing was fixed. Photo / Alex Burton
The new pedestrian crossing on Williamson Ave in Grey Lynn cost $396,000 and the raised zebra pedestrian crossing on the busy intersection of Dominion and Balmoral Rds cost $696,000.
Revelations of a second round of works at Williamson Ave infuriated Mayor Wayne Brown, who said the disruption and inconvenience the “stuff-up” caused locals were simply not good enough.
Brown, who has vowed a crackdown on road cones, has called for Auckland Transport to work with Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency, Watrercare and utility companies like Vector and Chorus to streamline traffic management.
AT said faults with the ramps and a cesspit on Williamson Ave were picked up by consultants undertaking quality tests in August last year. AT worked with TSL to find a solution without resorting to digging up the works, but this was not possible and the contractor was instructed to come back and undertake physical works, an AT spokesperson said.
Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown is not impressed with the disruption and inconvenience to locals from the pedestrian crossing "stuff-up". Photo / Michael Craig
“The Christmas and New Year shutdown period, coupled with the January flood events, further delayed the time of the works,” the spokesperson said.
In the case of the raised zebra crossing project in Balmoral, TSL completed the work last December without replacing an existing catch pit with a larger catch pit for more stormwater capacity on a local flood plain.
AT said the catch pit was not upgraded at the time of construction by TSL due to a number of shallow services and tree roots at the location.
The transport agency only became aware of the cesspit issue during a final site walkover in March.
The cost of fixing the issues at Williamson Ave and Balmoral was fully met by TSL, said AT.
The transport agency said it has had previous quality issues with TSL, but has not said how many issues it has had with the company, which is on its physical works supplier panel.
“Auckland Transport has confidence in TSL undertaking work as planned and instructed in accordance with the approved physical works supplier panel,” a spokesperson said.
AT said it used Traffic Engineering Solutions Limited (TES) to conduct three Management, Surveillance and Quality Assurance(MSQA) checks during the construction of the Williamson Ave crossing at a cost of $6800. AT uses TES and other consultants to check the work on raised pedestrian crossings and similar work.
