The brand new domestic terminal at Auckland Airport is in the last design stages, one step closer to the start of construction.
Spanning almost 30,000 square metres, the new terminal is to be completely integrated with the existing international terminal, with more than 14 test piles drilled into the ground signalling the major milestone.
Chief infrastructure officer at Auckland Airport, Andre Lovatt, said that the information gained from the test piles process would form the foundations of the up to 28m high building and the 240 metre-long aircraft pier.
“This is the biggest project Auckland Airport has ever built. After the years of planning and pandemic delays, it really is exciting to be at the point where we’re doing the test piling and finishing off the detailed design work that is going to bring to life a great customer experience for travellers,” said Lovatt.
Steel tubes have been slowly drilled while an operator in the drilling rig cab monitored and recorded the force needed and the final depth it reached.
There are many foundation piles needed for the new terminal, which will see the testing serve as an accurate picture of how the future construction process could play out. The testing process will determine how many piles are needed and the precise amount of steel and concrete required for each one. This is viewed as a vital exercise from both construction and budget perspectives.
The testing will be carried out over the next three months in seven different areas of the land earmarked for the new terminal. The process has been an inconvenience to travellers, with container walkways and hoardings in place whilst testing is in progress.
“It’s a busy part of the airport for these teams to work in, and you’ll need to look closely to spot the piling rigs. Generally, it will take about 12 days to do the work on each site, and once finished, the pavement is repaired and goes back to normal use for the time being.”
Work on the new Transport Hub has also progressed, which is set to open in early to mid-2024. The new pick-up lane and drop-off zone will run under the 200-metre-long building, transforming the experience of arriving and departing from the front door of the International terminal.
Work on the initial stages of the Transport Hub will need to be done before the construction of the new domestic terminal can commence.
“We need to stage these two separate projects very carefully to make sure we can provide a smooth, and, importantly, safe airport experience for customers coming to and from the airport. A big part of that will be taking public traffic using the road in front of the international terminal and moving it into the new and much larger pick-up and drop-off area running underneath the new Transport Hub.
There’s going to be a lot of change coming to the airport in the next year or so, but it’s pretty exciting to get underway with this build.”
