As part of Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland’s transformative City Rail Link (CRL) infrastructure project, the Porters Avenue Overbridge span in Maungawhau / Mt Eden has now been successfully placed. When complete, the structure will mark a milestone as the latest CRL project to complete and the first of four new overbridges to be built across the rail corridor surrounding Mt Eden Station.

Due for completion at the end of 2022, the overbridge will deliver a safe crossing for pedestrians and link to cycle networks. The community will be able to see how Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland’s cultural narrative is being reflected in the design of CRL.

Chris Jack, Principal and Transport & Infrastructure Lead at Jasmax, says: “Not only will the City Rail Link revolutionise Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland’s public transport network, it will also unlock the potential to create high quality, sustainable neighbourhoods that support active modes of transport. The design for Porters Avenue Overbridge represents the city’s unique cultural identity, linking to the whakapapa of Maungawhau Mt Eden and its significance to mana whenua.”

Conceptually, the Porters Avenue Overbridge depicts a sculpted and honed tool, likened to a karā toki (basalt chisel) that would have been used to carve out the extensive earth works on Maungawhau and dig, plant, and harvest kumara pits.

As lead architect, Jasmax worked with artist Tessa Harris, who was nominated by CRL’s Mana Whenua Forum, to co-design the overbridge. The mana whenua forum also gifted a cultural narrative for the four rail bridges, based on the volcanic atua / deity Matāoho, who resided in the crater of Maungawhau and is associated with many of the volcanic features of Tāmaki Makaurau.

Jasmax’s involvement in the CRL project dates back more than a decade, when the practice produced the Urban Design Framework against which each of the projects has been assessed to deliver high quality urban design, maximising community benefits.