Waterview tunnel exhaust stack

Sheetmetals Ltd has just completed the steel fabrication component for the Waterview tunnel exhaust stack, at the northern end of the tunnel.

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The tunnel forms part of Auckland Transport's Waterview Connection project, and is considered one of the most important infrastructure developments ever to take place in New Zealand. The roading development project completes a motorway ring route right around the city. The road runs between Manukau in the south and Albany north of Auckland via state highways 20, 16 and 18. It will bypass central Auckland to the west (ending Auckland’s reliance on a single motorway spine), SH1 and the Auckland Harbour Bridge for road travel through and within the region.

The project is described as the 'missing link' to complete the Western Ring Route – a motorway alternative easing pressure on SH1 through the centre of the city and the Auckland Harbour Bridge.

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Half of the new motorway – 2.4km – is underground. The world’s 10th largest tunnel boring machine, named Alice, is constructing twin tunnels up to 40m below ground. Each tunnel will carry three lanes of traffic.

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The project includes construction of a giant interchange near the northern entrance to the tunnels to connect the two motorways. The tunnels and interchange are due to open in early 2017, and will have the biggest impact on the way people travel around and through Auckland since the opening of the Auckland Harbour Bridge in 1959.

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The exhaust stack allows fumes to freely escape the enclosed space of the tunnel. Our steel fabrication work has been created to 'beautify' an otherwise sterile concrete structure. The design is fabricated to form a spiral around the concrete stack and is comprised of 61 fins made from 250 x 150 RHS.

Each fin is a different profile and is 15 meters long.