Recent projects
St Heliers undergrounding project 2022-2024
The St Heliers undergrounding project, bordered by Maskell Street, Sylvia Road and Glover Road was completed in June 2024.
Starting in January 2022, it consisted of 15 streets, with a combined street length of 6.3km.
All up, 420 poles and 14.9km of associated overhead lines were removed and replaced with new underground cables and Auckland Transport streetlight stands.
This was a significant project that benefitted 820 customers and has received very positive feedback from the local community.
Mt Albert undergrounding project 2021-2022
The Mt Albert undergrounding project, bound by Oakley Creek, New North Road, Carrington Road and Unitec, consisted of 16 streets, with a combined street length of 5.4km, 166 poles, and benefitted 867 customers.
It resulted in the removal of 10.2km of overhead electricity lines, with Vector completing its work in mid-2022.
Encountering volcanic rock
In Mt Albert, there is a lot of volcanic rock close to the ground surface. This meant that in some areas, crews were prevented from using modern trenchless technology, like thrusting and directional drilling, which are typically faster and less disruptive. Instead, the team often had to dig trenches with diggers and rock breakers to get the new underground services down deep enough to ensure they are well protected. As you would expect, encountering a lot of rock means timeframes and costs can also increase.
Crews also brought in specialist ground penetrating radar to determine the depth of the rock before excavation, so they could determine the best way to undertake the work, and with the least amount of disruption to residents.