Bridge 8

Slipping through time, imagine Auckland before the Auckland Harbour Bridge. Ferries were the lifeline between the city and the North Shore. Road trips north meant a 50km detour. Then, in 1959, everything changed. The Auckland Harbour Bridge, a marvel of engineering, opened. This eight-lane giant spans the Waitematā Harbour, connecting St Marys Bay to Northcote. It’s part of State Highway 1 and the Auckland Northern Motorway. Did you know its initial design, four lanes without footpaths, was called an “austerity” measure? Public outcry later led to a more comprehensive approach road network. Initially, crossing the Auckland Harbour Bridge came with a price. It was New Zealand’s first toll bridge. The toll started at 2/6 per car, later reduced to 2/-. After decimalization in 1967, it became 20 cents, then rose to 25 cents in 1980. Tolls disappeared in 1984 when collection costs exceeded profits. The bridge quickly became busier than anticipated. By 1965, it handled three times the predicted traffic. Between 1968 and 1969, the “Nippon clip-ons,” two box girder additions built by a Japanese firm, doubled the lanes to eight. This bold move came only two decades after WWII, amidst lingering anti-Japanese sentiment. These clip-ons have presented ongoing challenges, with cracks appearing in 1987 and further fatigue issues arising in 2006. The Auckland Harbour Bridge handles a staggering 170,000 vehicles daily, including over 1,000 buses. To manage this flow, a tidal flow system adjusts the direction of the central lanes to accommodate peak hour traffic. A movable concrete barrier, a world-first on a box girder bridge, was installed in 1990 to prevent head-on collisions. Auckland Harbour Bridge also pulsates with more than just traffic. AJ Hackett offers bungy jumping and guided climbs across its arch. Since 2017, Vector Limited has illuminated the bridge with LED lights powered by renewable energy.