Auckland Harbour Bridge
Encyclopedia
The Auckland Harbour Bridge is an eight-lane box truss
motorway bridge over the Waitemata Harbour
, joining St Marys Bay
in Auckland
with Northcote
in North Shore City, New Zealand. The bridge is part of State Highway 1 and the Auckland Northern Motorway
. It is the second-longest road bridge in New Zealand, and the longest in the North Island
.
The bridge has a length of 1,020 m (3,348 ft), with a main span of 243.8 m, rising 43.27 m above high water allowing ships access to the deepwater wharf at the Chelsea Sugar Refinery
west of it (one of the few wharves needing such access west of the bridge, a proposed Te Atatu
port having never been realised).
While considered an Auckland icon, there has also been criticism, from the nickname of 'coathanger' due to its shape, to complaints that it mimics the Sydney Harbour Bridge
in copyist
fashion. Many also see the original construction of the bridge without walking, cycling and rail facilities as a big oversight.
The bridge sees a small number of suicide attempts each year, with people jumping into the Waitemata Harbour below, and between one and two people each year dying from the fall.
Bungy operator AJ Hackett operates a 40m bungy jump from the bridge. They also offer a bridge climb with views of the city and the harbour.
While still dominated by car traffic in terms of vehicle numbers, in terms of people numbers, almost 40% of the traffic across the bridge during the 7-9am morning peak hours is now by public transport, with the increase created to a significant degree by the success of the Northern Busway
(even though the busway does not extend across the bridge itself).
(then only completed between Great North Road and Lincoln Road), Massey
, Riverhead, and Albany; a distance of approximately 50 kilometres (31.1 mi).
As early as 1860, engineer Fred Bell, commissioned by North Shore farmers wanting to herd animals to market in Auckland, and had proposed a harbour crossing in the general vicinity of the current bridge. It would have used floating pontoons
, but the plan failed due to the £16,000 cost estimate; NZ$1.6 million in inflation-adjusted terms (2009).
At the time of the 1950s, when bridge plans were finally realised, North Shore was still a very rural area of barely 50,000 people, offering relatively few jobs, and its growth rate was half that of the Auckland south of the Waitemata. Opening up the area via a new main road connection was to unlock the potential for further expansion of Auckland.
opting for the 'austerity' design of four lanes without footpaths, and only including an approach road network after local outcry over traffic effects. The decision to reduce the concept in this way has been called "a ringing testament to [...] the peril of short-term thinking and penny-pinching".
The bridge took four years to build, with Dorman Long
/ Cleveland Bridge Co.
being the original contractors. The large steel girder sections were partially pre-assembled, and then floated into place on construction barges. One of the main spans was almost lost during stormy weather when the barge began to drift, but the tugboat William C Daldy
eventually won a 36-hour tug-of-war against the high winds.
Having been completed in April 1959, three weeks ahead of schedule, the bridge was officially opened on 30 May 1959 by the Governor-General Lord Cobham
,. Previously, an open day had been held during which 106,000 people had been allowed to walk on the bridge.
According to various sources either three or four men had been killed by accidents during construction, and the names of three of them are recorded on a memorial plaque underneath the bridge at the Northcote end.
Paid for by government-backed loans, the bridge started out as a toll bridge
, the first such facility in New Zealand, with toll booths for both north and south-bound traffic located at the northern end. Tolls were originally 2/6 (25 cents) per car but were reduced to 2/- (20 cents) after 15 months of operation. Tolling was later made north-bound only before being discontinued on 30 March 1984, and the booths removed. This was in line with political commitments that tolls would only be charged until the bridge's construction costs were paid off.
Some critics have also alleged that the rerouting of State Highway 1 over the bridge was motivated by the need to create toll revenue, and led to a decade-long (and ongoing) delay on finishing the Western Ring Route
around Auckland. The rerouting is thus alleged to have significantly contributed to the need for a massive motorway through the city centre of Auckland, severely damaging inner city suburbs like Freemans Bay
and Grafton
.
The bridge was originally built with four lanes for traffic. Owing to the rapid expansion of suburbs on the North Shore and increasing traffic levels it was soon necessary to increase the capacity of the bridge - by 1965, the annual use was about 10 million vehicles, three times the original forecast.
In 1969, only ten years after opening, two-lane box girder clip-on sections were added to each side, doubling the number of lanes to eight. The sections were manufactured by Ishikawajima-Harima Heavy Industries of Japan, which led to the nickname 'Nippon clip-ons'. The selection of the company was considered a bold move at the time, barely 20 years after WWII and with some considerable anti-Japanese sentiment still existing in the country. The costs of the additions were noted as having been much higher than had the extra lanes been provided initially.
While doubling the vehicle lanes of the bridge, the clip-ons have been plagued by significant issues. In 1987 cracks required major repair works, and in 2006, further cracks and signs of material fatigue
were found. The clip-ons were originally to have a life expectancy of 50 years. Auckland City Council's Transport Committee requested Transit New Zealand
to investigate the future of the clip-on lanes as part of its 10-year plan. Transit noted in this context that the plan already includes some funding for bridge maintenance.
In May 2007, Transit New Zealand proposed a bylaw change to restrict trucks over 4.5 tonnes from using the outside lane on each clip-on to reduce stress on the aging structure. This was later changed to a bylaw introduced in July 2007 restricting only vehicles of 13 tonnes or more, based on the high level of voluntary compliance during the previous months.
In 2007, it was announced that NZ$45 million in maintenance work on the clip-on sections was brought forward as part of good practice. In October 2007, a 2006 report from Beca Group
surfaced in the press, noting that the clip-ons were at risk of catastrophic, immediate failure in certain circumstances (such as a traffic jam trapping a large number of trucks on them). Transit New Zealand has noted that the situation described was extremely unlikely, and measures already implemented would prevent it from occurring. In January 2008, it became known that even after the multi-million dollar maintenance works, a full ban for trucks on all clip-on lanes might be required, or the working life could be reduced to only 10 more years.
In late 2009, it was announced that due to greater than expected complexity of the task, and increasing material costs (and material requirements for a larger scope of 920 tons of reinforcing material instead of the approximately half amount of that originally envisaged) the clip-on maintenance costs had increased by a further NZ$41 million. It was noted by NZTA that the bridge clip-ons would not be able to be strengthened again after the current works were finished. However, after completion of the upgrade, the bridge would have a further life of between 20–40 years (though truck restrictions would have to be reintroduced in 10–20 years on the northbound clip-on).
For many years lane directions were indicated by overhead signals. In the late 1980s a number of fatal head-on accidents occurred when vehicles crossed lane markings into the path of oncoming traffic. In 1990, a movable concrete safety barrier was put in place to separate traffic heading in opposite directions and eliminate head-on accidents. Two specially designed barrier machines
moved the barrier by one lane four times a day, at a speed of 6 km/h. It took 40 minutes to move the entire barrier, which was the first of its kind in the world.
In March 2009 both the barrier transfer machines, which lasted four times their original design life of five years, and the original barrier were replaced. The new barrier transfer machines are capable of moving the barrier in half the time the old machines did. The concrete barrier blocks and the metal expansion blocks have been reduced in width by 20 cm, giving more width in the lanes either side of the barrier.
As part of the Victoria Park Tunnel
project, the median strip system is to be extended further towards the city, reaching as far as the Fanshawe Street onramps.
, the normal motorway restrictions on access can sometimes be relaxed. December 2011 will be the first time that cyclists will be officially allowed on the bridge for a race / community cycling event organised in joint between Telstra Clear, Auckland Transport, NZTA and Cycle Action Auckland
, which will also allow cyclists access onto the Northern Busway
. The up to 9000 riders allowed to cross the bridge will be protected by 160 stationary buses used as a 'guard of honour' to protect cyclists in the section between the bridge end and the Northern Busway from traffic on the rest of the motorway which will stay open.
When the bridge was built, rail lines, as well as the walking and cycling paths, were dropped for cost reasons, and neither were they included during the clip-on construction (tourists can walk on the span via guided tours). In recent (2007) discussions about the future of the bridge, the addition of a cycle and footpath link between Auckland City and North Shore City has been mooted for the bridge. Transit New Zealand has noted that such a provision would cost between NZ$20 million and $40 million, but public support for such an addition to the bridge has been polled as being very high. The GetAcross group and Cycle Action Auckland
argue that lower-cost options are available, and that provision for a walk- and cycleway could relatively easily be included in the bridge strengthening works currently being planned for the clip-on structure.
The GetAcross group is showcasing the proposed walking/cycling solution on their website and invites visitors to sign a petition supporting or opposing the proposal.
A 2008 proposal to modify the clip-ons and potentially widen them to add walking and cycling paths to the bridge met with different reactions. While Auckland Regional Council
and North Shore City Council voted to support it (under certain conditions), Auckland City Council
considered the costs associated with the proposal as too high. Other stakeholders such as the New Zealand Transport Agency
(NZTA) also consider the proposal as not having enough merit for the $22–53 million price tag, though campaigners note that the costs cited for the project include 45% contingencies. A proposal from the Auckland Regional Council (one of the proponents of the facility) to open up part of the clip-on structure for a walking / cycling trial use during several summer weekends - to show whether it would attract enough users - did not go forward.
Protests
On Sunday, 24 May 2009, thousands of people crossed the bridge as a part of a protest by the GetAcross group against the fact that after 50 years of existence, the bridge still did not provide walking and cycling access, and against what the group perceives to be the authorities' negative and obstructionist attitude towards retrofitting such infrastructure. A crossing as part of the protest (or as part of the official 50 year anniversary celebrations) had been forbidden by NZTA for safety reasons (respectively because of the costs and traffic difficulties claimed for a managed crossing). However, after several speeches, including by Auckland Regional Council Chairman Mike Lee
, several individuals managed to make their way around the edges of the police cordon to walk and cycle onto the bridge. At that stage police saw no choice but to close off the northbound traffic lanes, bringing State Highway 1 to a stop in the northbound direction. This in turn resulted in the remainder of the protesters moving onto the bridge (which was not resisted any more by the police at that stage). No accidents, violence or arrests were reported, and protesters left the bridge approximately an hour later, many having crossed all the way to North Shore and then returned.
The protest created a wide spectrum of responses in the media and in public perception, from being labelled a dangerous stunt representative of an increasingly lawless, anarchic society to being considered a successful signal to authorities to give more weight to the demands and the public backing of the walk and cycleway proponents. Authorities noted that they are investigating whether any of the protesters would face fines or charges. NZTA representatives noted that they were disappointed at what they considered the broken word of the organisers of the protest, and remarked that it would take 30 more years before walking and cycling could likely be provided on the bridge (see also "Second Harbour Crossing" below). NZTA were however also criticised as having brought the situation at least partly onto themselves by choosing the easy route of forbidding the protest crossing. Several political protest marches (especially hikoi
s) had in the past been allowed to cross the bridge.
Updated proposal
Because of the costs associated with the proposal, and the increasing information about the problematic state of the clip-ons, the GetAcross campaign in late 2009 proposed an alternative solution, in which a single, shared walking and cycling path would be slung under the eastern clip-on. As confirmed by NZTA, this clip-on has significantly more remaining load capacity (being used by much fewer heavy trucks, being the route of empties to Ports of Auckland
) and as the proposal would not require widening, the costs for the single path have been preliminarily assessed as being only on the order of NZ$12 million.
Further, the group proposes to raise the majority of the funding via a loan backed by small tolls for passage over the bridge, on the order of NZ$1 for regular users. The New Zealand Transport Agency noted that it would be considering the proposal, should funding be able to be secured by the campaigners.
In 2011, the proposal got new public support when Auckland Mayor Len Brown
agreed that a walk- and cycleway was a desirable goal, and instructed Auckland Transport to add it to their strategic priorities. The walk- and cycleway is also to be included in the city centre masterplan. Three major CCO's - Auckland Transport, the Waterfront Development Agency and the Tourism, Events and Economic Development Agency have also indicated support for the proposal, as has the Heart of the City (Auckland CBD
) business association.
In August 2011, an editorial of the New Zealand Herald gave conditional support to the newest proposal, noting that a toll-based funding model and a partially enclosed (weather protected) design for a $23 million proposal by Hopper Developments would appear to cover most concerns. The new proposal is shown at GetAcross.
Almost since the Harbour Bridge reached capacity (i.e. before extension via the clip-ons) a second crossing of the harbour was mooted. The extreme costs and the difficulties of connecting it to the motorway network have however so far caused plans to remain at concept stage. However, in 2008, a study group narrowed down around 160 options to a single recommendation, a multi-tunnel link approximately one km east of the existing bridge, with up to four individual tunnels for motorway and public transport and trains. The proposal however has not continued to a political decision or funding stage, though designations are being protected to ensure that further development will not prevent the tunnel solution.
Specific:
Truss
In architecture and structural engineering, a truss is a structure comprising one or more triangular units constructed with straight members whose ends are connected at joints referred to as nodes. External forces and reactions to those forces are considered to act only at the nodes and result in...
motorway bridge over the Waitemata Harbour
Waitemata Harbour
The quite famous Waitemata Harbour is the main access by sea to Auckland, New Zealand. For this reason it is often referred to as Auckland Harbour, despite the fact that it is only one of two harbours surrounding the city, and is crossed by the Auckland Harbour Bridge. The Waitemata forms the north...
, joining St Marys Bay
Saint Marys Bay, New Zealand
Saint Marys Bay is an Auckland suburb- 1800s :mid-1840s George Scott farms the land where 3 Lamps is now.1853 For £1100 Catholic Bishop Pompallier purchases 19ha in the area between 3 lamps and the shoreline from James O’Neill christening it Mount St. Mary.1854 O’Neill’s house becomes St. Anne’s...
in Auckland
Auckland City
Auckland City was the city and local authority covering the Auckland isthmus and most of the islands of the Hauraki Gulf, in the North Island of New Zealand. On 1 November 2010 it was amalgamated into the wider Auckland Region under the authority of the new Auckland Council...
with Northcote
Northcote, New Zealand
Northcote is a suburb of North Shore City, one of several cities in the Auckland metropolitan area in northern New Zealand. It is located on the north shore of the Waitemata Harbour, four kilometres northwest of the Auckland city centre....
in North Shore City, New Zealand. The bridge is part of State Highway 1 and the Auckland Northern Motorway
Auckland Northern Motorway
The Auckland Northern Motorway is a major motorway in the Auckland Region of New Zealand, linking central Auckland City and Puhoi in the Rodney District, via the Hibiscus Coast and North Shore...
. It is the second-longest road bridge in New Zealand, and the longest in the North Island
North Island
The North Island is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, separated from the much less populous South Island by Cook Strait. The island is in area, making it the world's 14th-largest island...
.
The bridge has a length of 1,020 m (3,348 ft), with a main span of 243.8 m, rising 43.27 m above high water allowing ships access to the deepwater wharf at the Chelsea Sugar Refinery
Chelsea Sugar Refinery
The Chelsea Sugar Refinery, also known colloquially as "Chelsea" and the "sugar works", is a long-established business and landmark in Birkenhead, New Zealand, located on the northern shore of Auckland's Waitemata Harbour. It was established in 1884, and remains New Zealand's main source of sugar...
west of it (one of the few wharves needing such access west of the bridge, a proposed Te Atatu
Te Atatu
Te Atatu is the name of two suburbs in western Auckland, New Zealand: Te Atatu Peninsula and Te Atatu South. They are located next to each other some 10 kilometres to the west of the Auckland city centre....
port having never been realised).
While considered an Auckland icon, there has also been criticism, from the nickname of 'coathanger' due to its shape, to complaints that it mimics the Sydney Harbour Bridge
Sydney Harbour Bridge
The Sydney Harbour Bridge is a steel through arch bridge across Sydney Harbour that carries rail, vehicular, bicycle and pedestrian traffic between the Sydney central business district and the North Shore. The dramatic view of the bridge, the harbour, and the nearby Sydney Opera House is an iconic...
in copyist
Copyist
A copyist is a person who makes written copies. In ancient times, a scrivener was also called a calligraphus . The term's modern use is almost entirely confined to music copyists, who are employed by the music industry to produce neat copies from a composer or arranger's manuscript.-Music...
fashion. Many also see the original construction of the bridge without walking, cycling and rail facilities as a big oversight.
The bridge sees a small number of suicide attempts each year, with people jumping into the Waitemata Harbour below, and between one and two people each year dying from the fall.
Bungy operator AJ Hackett operates a 40m bungy jump from the bridge. They also offer a bridge climb with views of the city and the harbour.
While still dominated by car traffic in terms of vehicle numbers, in terms of people numbers, almost 40% of the traffic across the bridge during the 7-9am morning peak hours is now by public transport, with the increase created to a significant degree by the success of the Northern Busway
Northern Busway, Auckland
thumb|Passengers boarding a [[MAXX Regional Transport]] Northern Express service operated by [[Ritchies Coachlines]].The Northern Busway is a physically separated busway with dedicated park & ride facilities along State Highway 1 in the north of Auckland, New Zealand, linking the North Shore with...
(even though the busway does not extend across the bridge itself).
Background
Prior to construction of the bridge, the quickest way from Auckland to the North Shore was via ferry. By road, the shortest route from Auckland to the North Shore was via the Northwestern MotorwayNorthwest Motorway
The Northwestern Motorway , part of State Highway 16 , is the major western route and secondary northern route out of Auckland in New Zealand...
(then only completed between Great North Road and Lincoln Road), Massey
Massey, New Zealand
Massey is a north-western suburb of the Auckland conurbation. It was formerly a northern suburb of Waitakere City which existed from 1989 to 2010, before being replaced by the Auckland Council. The suburb was named after former Prime Minister of New Zealand William Massey...
, Riverhead, and Albany; a distance of approximately 50 kilometres (31.1 mi).
As early as 1860, engineer Fred Bell, commissioned by North Shore farmers wanting to herd animals to market in Auckland, and had proposed a harbour crossing in the general vicinity of the current bridge. It would have used floating pontoons
Pontoon bridge
A pontoon bridge or floating bridge is a bridge that floats on water and in which barge- or boat-like pontoons support the bridge deck and its dynamic loads. While pontoon bridges are usually temporary structures, some are used for long periods of time...
, but the plan failed due to the £16,000 cost estimate; NZ$1.6 million in inflation-adjusted terms (2009).
At the time of the 1950s, when bridge plans were finally realised, North Shore was still a very rural area of barely 50,000 people, offering relatively few jobs, and its growth rate was half that of the Auckland south of the Waitemata. Opening up the area via a new main road connection was to unlock the potential for further expansion of Auckland.
Initial structure
Based on recommendations of the design team and the report of the 1946 Royal Commission, the bridge was to have five or six traffic lanes instead of four (with the extra one or two lanes intended to be reversed in direction depending on the flow of traffic), as well as footpaths on both sides of the bridge. However, these features were dropped for cost reasons before construction started, the First National Government of New ZealandFirst National Government of New Zealand
The First National Government of New Zealand was the government of New Zealand from 1949 to 1957. It was a conservative government best remembered for its role in the 1951 waterfront dispute. It also began the repositioning of New Zealand in the cold war environment...
opting for the 'austerity' design of four lanes without footpaths, and only including an approach road network after local outcry over traffic effects. The decision to reduce the concept in this way has been called "a ringing testament to [...] the peril of short-term thinking and penny-pinching".
The bridge took four years to build, with Dorman Long
Dorman Long
Dorman Long, based in Middlesbrough, North East England, was a major steel producer, which diversified into bridge building, and is now a manufacturer of steel components and construction equipment for bridges and other structures...
/ Cleveland Bridge Co.
Cleveland Bridge & Engineering Company
The Cleveland Bridge & Engineering Company is a renowned bridge building and structural engineering company based in Darlington, England. It has been involved in many major projects including the Victoria Falls Bridge and the Humber Bridge.-History:...
being the original contractors. The large steel girder sections were partially pre-assembled, and then floated into place on construction barges. One of the main spans was almost lost during stormy weather when the barge began to drift, but the tugboat William C Daldy
William C Daldy
The William C Daldy is a historic steam engine tugboat operating on the Waitemata Harbour, in Auckland, New Zealand. Named after William Crush Daldy, an Auckland politician, she was built in 1935 and is still kept up as an active vessel by an enthusiast preservation society which charters her out...
eventually won a 36-hour tug-of-war against the high winds.
Having been completed in April 1959, three weeks ahead of schedule, the bridge was officially opened on 30 May 1959 by the Governor-General Lord Cobham
Charles Lyttelton, 10th Viscount Cobham
Charles John Lyttelton, 10th Viscount Cobham, KG, GCMG, GCVO, TD, PC was the ninth Governor-General of New Zealand and an English cricketer.-Early life and family:...
,. Previously, an open day had been held during which 106,000 people had been allowed to walk on the bridge.
According to various sources either three or four men had been killed by accidents during construction, and the names of three of them are recorded on a memorial plaque underneath the bridge at the Northcote end.
Paid for by government-backed loans, the bridge started out as a toll bridge
Toll bridge
A toll bridge is a bridge over which traffic may pass upon payment of a toll, or fee.- History :The practice of collecting tolls on bridges probably harks back to the days of ferry crossings where people paid a fee to be ferried across stretches of water. As boats became impractical to carry large...
, the first such facility in New Zealand, with toll booths for both north and south-bound traffic located at the northern end. Tolls were originally 2/6 (25 cents) per car but were reduced to 2/- (20 cents) after 15 months of operation. Tolling was later made north-bound only before being discontinued on 30 March 1984, and the booths removed. This was in line with political commitments that tolls would only be charged until the bridge's construction costs were paid off.
Some critics have also alleged that the rerouting of State Highway 1 over the bridge was motivated by the need to create toll revenue, and led to a decade-long (and ongoing) delay on finishing the Western Ring Route
Western Ring Route
The Western Ring Route is a motorway system being constructed in Auckland, New Zealand. It runs along three existing state highways: the Southwestern Motorway , the Northwestern Motorway and the Upper Harbour Highway . When finished it will surpass the Southern Motorway to become the longest...
around Auckland. The rerouting is thus alleged to have significantly contributed to the need for a massive motorway through the city centre of Auckland, severely damaging inner city suburbs like Freemans Bay
Freemans Bay
Freemans Bay is the name of a former bay and now inner city suburb of Auckland, in the North Island of New Zealand. The historical bay was filled in to a large extent, and lost its shoreline to reclamation works...
and Grafton
Grafton, New Zealand
Grafton is a suburb of Auckland City, New Zealand. The suburb is named for the Duke of Grafton, a patron of the first Governor of New Zealand, William Hobson, and was once known as 'Grafton Heights', denoting it's history as a well-off suburb in Auckland's earliest decades...
.
'Nippon clip-ons'
In 1969, only ten years after opening, two-lane box girder clip-on sections were added to each side, doubling the number of lanes to eight. The sections were manufactured by Ishikawajima-Harima Heavy Industries of Japan, which led to the nickname 'Nippon clip-ons'. The selection of the company was considered a bold move at the time, barely 20 years after WWII and with some considerable anti-Japanese sentiment still existing in the country. The costs of the additions were noted as having been much higher than had the extra lanes been provided initially.
While doubling the vehicle lanes of the bridge, the clip-ons have been plagued by significant issues. In 1987 cracks required major repair works, and in 2006, further cracks and signs of material fatigue
Fatigue (material)
'In materials science, fatigue is the progressive and localized structural damage that occurs when a material is subjected to cyclic loading. The nominal maximum stress values are less than the ultimate tensile stress limit, and may be below the yield stress limit of the material.Fatigue occurs...
were found. The clip-ons were originally to have a life expectancy of 50 years. Auckland City Council's Transport Committee requested Transit New Zealand
Transit New Zealand
Transit New Zealand was, from 1989 to 2008, the New Zealand Crown entity responsible for operating and planning the New Zealand State Highway network...
to investigate the future of the clip-on lanes as part of its 10-year plan. Transit noted in this context that the plan already includes some funding for bridge maintenance.
In May 2007, Transit New Zealand proposed a bylaw change to restrict trucks over 4.5 tonnes from using the outside lane on each clip-on to reduce stress on the aging structure. This was later changed to a bylaw introduced in July 2007 restricting only vehicles of 13 tonnes or more, based on the high level of voluntary compliance during the previous months.
In 2007, it was announced that NZ$45 million in maintenance work on the clip-on sections was brought forward as part of good practice. In October 2007, a 2006 report from Beca Group
Beca Group
' is one of the largest employee-owned engineering and related consultancy services companies in the Asia-Pacific. While it is headquartered in Auckland, New Zealand, Beca operates from three main hubs: Australia, New Zealand and Singapore. Beca has over 2,400 employees in total, many of them...
surfaced in the press, noting that the clip-ons were at risk of catastrophic, immediate failure in certain circumstances (such as a traffic jam trapping a large number of trucks on them). Transit New Zealand has noted that the situation described was extremely unlikely, and measures already implemented would prevent it from occurring. In January 2008, it became known that even after the multi-million dollar maintenance works, a full ban for trucks on all clip-on lanes might be required, or the working life could be reduced to only 10 more years.
In late 2009, it was announced that due to greater than expected complexity of the task, and increasing material costs (and material requirements for a larger scope of 920 tons of reinforcing material instead of the approximately half amount of that originally envisaged) the clip-on maintenance costs had increased by a further NZ$41 million. It was noted by NZTA that the bridge clip-ons would not be able to be strengthened again after the current works were finished. However, after completion of the upgrade, the bridge would have a further life of between 20–40 years (though truck restrictions would have to be reintroduced in 10–20 years on the northbound clip-on).
Traffic management
A "tidal flow" system is in place, where the traffic direction of two of the centre lanes is changed in order to provide an additional lane for peak period traffic. During the morning rush five of the eight lanes are allocated to southbound traffic, heading towards Auckland. This situation is reversed in the afternoon, when five lanes are allocated to northbound traffic. At all other times of the day the lanes are split evenly, and peaks also have grown increasingly evenly distributed (i.e. in 1991 there was often a higher than 3:1 difference in directional traffic, in 2006 this had dropped to around 1.6:1). The bridge has an estimated vehicle capacity of 180,000 per day, and in 2006 had an average volume of 168,754 vehicles per day (up from 122,000 in 1991).For many years lane directions were indicated by overhead signals. In the late 1980s a number of fatal head-on accidents occurred when vehicles crossed lane markings into the path of oncoming traffic. In 1990, a movable concrete safety barrier was put in place to separate traffic heading in opposite directions and eliminate head-on accidents. Two specially designed barrier machines
Barrier transfer machine
Barrier transfer machines, also known as zipper machines, are heavy vehicles used to transfer Jersey barriers or other concrete lane dividers used to relieve traffic congestion during rush hours....
moved the barrier by one lane four times a day, at a speed of 6 km/h. It took 40 minutes to move the entire barrier, which was the first of its kind in the world.
In March 2009 both the barrier transfer machines, which lasted four times their original design life of five years, and the original barrier were replaced. The new barrier transfer machines are capable of moving the barrier in half the time the old machines did. The concrete barrier blocks and the metal expansion blocks have been reduced in width by 20 cm, giving more width in the lanes either side of the barrier.
As part of the Victoria Park Tunnel
Victoria Park Tunnel
The Victoria Park Tunnel is a motorway tunnel under construction on New Zealand State Highway 1 in Auckland, New Zealand. When finished end of 2011, it is to take the northbound traffic off the Victoria Park Viaduct, which will then be converted to all southbound traffic...
project, the median strip system is to be extended further towards the city, reaching as far as the Fanshawe Street onramps.
Event management
As part of some larger events, such as the Auckland MarathonAuckland Marathon
The Auckland Marathon and Half Marathon is an annual marathon running race held in Auckland, New Zealand. The event is held in October, or early November of each year, which is during the spring in New Zealand. The main feature of the event is the crossing of the Auckland Harbour Bridge, which...
, the normal motorway restrictions on access can sometimes be relaxed. December 2011 will be the first time that cyclists will be officially allowed on the bridge for a race / community cycling event organised in joint between Telstra Clear, Auckland Transport, NZTA and Cycle Action Auckland
Cycle Action Auckland
Cycle Action Auckland is a pro-cycling advocacy group in Auckland, New Zealand. The volunteer-driven group aims to improve infrastructure and conditions, as well as perceptions of cycling to encourage more "everyday people" to use bicycles, including for commuting and recreation...
, which will also allow cyclists access onto the Northern Busway
Northern Busway, Auckland
thumb|Passengers boarding a [[MAXX Regional Transport]] Northern Express service operated by [[Ritchies Coachlines]].The Northern Busway is a physically separated busway with dedicated park & ride facilities along State Highway 1 in the north of Auckland, New Zealand, linking the North Shore with...
. The up to 9000 riders allowed to cross the bridge will be protected by 160 stationary buses used as a 'guard of honour' to protect cyclists in the section between the bridge end and the Northern Busway from traffic on the rest of the motorway which will stay open.
Proposed walk- and cycleway
Original proposalWhen the bridge was built, rail lines, as well as the walking and cycling paths, were dropped for cost reasons, and neither were they included during the clip-on construction (tourists can walk on the span via guided tours). In recent (2007) discussions about the future of the bridge, the addition of a cycle and footpath link between Auckland City and North Shore City has been mooted for the bridge. Transit New Zealand has noted that such a provision would cost between NZ$20 million and $40 million, but public support for such an addition to the bridge has been polled as being very high. The GetAcross group and Cycle Action Auckland
Cycle Action Auckland
Cycle Action Auckland is a pro-cycling advocacy group in Auckland, New Zealand. The volunteer-driven group aims to improve infrastructure and conditions, as well as perceptions of cycling to encourage more "everyday people" to use bicycles, including for commuting and recreation...
argue that lower-cost options are available, and that provision for a walk- and cycleway could relatively easily be included in the bridge strengthening works currently being planned for the clip-on structure.
The GetAcross group is showcasing the proposed walking/cycling solution on their website and invites visitors to sign a petition supporting or opposing the proposal.
A 2008 proposal to modify the clip-ons and potentially widen them to add walking and cycling paths to the bridge met with different reactions. While Auckland Regional Council
Auckland Regional Council
The Auckland Regional Council was the regional council of the Auckland Region. Its predecessor the Auckland Regional Authority was formed in 1963 and became the ARC in 1989...
and North Shore City Council voted to support it (under certain conditions), Auckland City Council
Auckland City Council
Auckland City Council was the local government authority representing Auckland City, New Zealand, and was amalgamated into the Auckland Council on 1 November 2010. It was an elected body representing the 404,658 residents of the city...
considered the costs associated with the proposal as too high. Other stakeholders such as the New Zealand Transport Agency
New Zealand Transport Agency
The New Zealand Transport Agency is a New Zealand Crown entity tasked with promoting safe and functional transport by land, including the responsibility for driver and vehicle licensing and investigating rail accidents. It was created on 1 August 2008 by the Land Transport Management Amendment...
(NZTA) also consider the proposal as not having enough merit for the $22–53 million price tag, though campaigners note that the costs cited for the project include 45% contingencies. A proposal from the Auckland Regional Council (one of the proponents of the facility) to open up part of the clip-on structure for a walking / cycling trial use during several summer weekends - to show whether it would attract enough users - did not go forward.
Protests
On Sunday, 24 May 2009, thousands of people crossed the bridge as a part of a protest by the GetAcross group against the fact that after 50 years of existence, the bridge still did not provide walking and cycling access, and against what the group perceives to be the authorities' negative and obstructionist attitude towards retrofitting such infrastructure. A crossing as part of the protest (or as part of the official 50 year anniversary celebrations) had been forbidden by NZTA for safety reasons (respectively because of the costs and traffic difficulties claimed for a managed crossing). However, after several speeches, including by Auckland Regional Council Chairman Mike Lee
Mike Lee (New Zealand politician)
Michael Lee is a councillor on the Auckland Council and the former chairman of the Auckland Regional Council, both in Auckland, New Zealand...
, several individuals managed to make their way around the edges of the police cordon to walk and cycle onto the bridge. At that stage police saw no choice but to close off the northbound traffic lanes, bringing State Highway 1 to a stop in the northbound direction. This in turn resulted in the remainder of the protesters moving onto the bridge (which was not resisted any more by the police at that stage). No accidents, violence or arrests were reported, and protesters left the bridge approximately an hour later, many having crossed all the way to North Shore and then returned.
The protest created a wide spectrum of responses in the media and in public perception, from being labelled a dangerous stunt representative of an increasingly lawless, anarchic society to being considered a successful signal to authorities to give more weight to the demands and the public backing of the walk and cycleway proponents. Authorities noted that they are investigating whether any of the protesters would face fines or charges. NZTA representatives noted that they were disappointed at what they considered the broken word of the organisers of the protest, and remarked that it would take 30 more years before walking and cycling could likely be provided on the bridge (see also "Second Harbour Crossing" below). NZTA were however also criticised as having brought the situation at least partly onto themselves by choosing the easy route of forbidding the protest crossing. Several political protest marches (especially hikoi
Hikoi
Hikoi is a term of the Maori language of New Zealand generally meaning a protest march or parade, usually implying a long journey taking days or weeks....
s) had in the past been allowed to cross the bridge.
Updated proposal
Because of the costs associated with the proposal, and the increasing information about the problematic state of the clip-ons, the GetAcross campaign in late 2009 proposed an alternative solution, in which a single, shared walking and cycling path would be slung under the eastern clip-on. As confirmed by NZTA, this clip-on has significantly more remaining load capacity (being used by much fewer heavy trucks, being the route of empties to Ports of Auckland
Ports of Auckland
Ports of Auckland Limited , the successor to the Auckland Harbour Board, is the company administering Auckland's commercial freight and cruise ship harbour facilities...
) and as the proposal would not require widening, the costs for the single path have been preliminarily assessed as being only on the order of NZ$12 million.
Further, the group proposes to raise the majority of the funding via a loan backed by small tolls for passage over the bridge, on the order of NZ$1 for regular users. The New Zealand Transport Agency noted that it would be considering the proposal, should funding be able to be secured by the campaigners.
In 2011, the proposal got new public support when Auckland Mayor Len Brown
Len Brown
Len Brown is the Mayor of Auckland in New Zealand and the head of the Auckland Council. He won the 2010 Auckland mayoral election on 9 October 2010 and was sworn in as Mayor of Auckland on 1 November 2010, being the first to hold that title for the amalgamated Auckland 'Super City'...
agreed that a walk- and cycleway was a desirable goal, and instructed Auckland Transport to add it to their strategic priorities. The walk- and cycleway is also to be included in the city centre masterplan. Three major CCO's - Auckland Transport, the Waterfront Development Agency and the Tourism, Events and Economic Development Agency have also indicated support for the proposal, as has the Heart of the City (Auckland CBD
Auckland CBD
The Auckland CBD is the geographical and economic heart of the Auckland metropolitan area. Bounded by several major motorways and by the harbour coastline in the north, it is surrounded further out by mostly suburban areas...
) business association.
In August 2011, an editorial of the New Zealand Herald gave conditional support to the newest proposal, noting that a toll-based funding model and a partially enclosed (weather protected) design for a $23 million proposal by Hopper Developments would appear to cover most concerns. The new proposal is shown at GetAcross.
Second Harbour Crossing
See also
General:- Public transport in AucklandPublic transport in AucklandPublic transport in Auckland, the largest metropolitan area of New Zealand, consists of three modes – bus, train and ferry. Services are provided under the "MAXX" brand by private transport providers, coordinated by Auckland Transport, the council controlled organisation that replaced the Auckland...
- Transport in AucklandTransport in AucklandTransport in Auckland, New Zealand's largest city, is defined by various factors, among them the shape of the Auckland isthmus , the suburban character of much of the Auckland area and the large car-ownership ratio of New Zealanders.These factors have resulted in a mostly...
- Bridges in New ZealandBridges in New ZealandThe bridges in New Zealand are many and varied but only date back to the beginning of European settlement in the mid 19th century.-Road bridges:Some of the longest bridges on the state highway network are:* Rakaia River bridge - 1,757 metres...
Specific:
- Central Motorway JunctionCentral Motorway JunctionThe Central Motorway Junction or CMJ , is the intersection of New Zealand State Highways 1 and 16, just south of the central business district of Auckland, New Zealand...
, the major motorway junction connecting southeast of the bridge - Newmarket ViaductNewmarket ViaductThe Newmarket Viaduct, sometimes considered 'one of the most distinctive engineering features' of New Zealand, is a six-lane State highway viaduct in Auckland, the country's largest city. Carrying the Southern Motorway over the Newmarket suburb area southeast of the CBD of the city, the 700 m long...
, similarly important traffic bottleneck on other side of Auckland CBD - Western ReclamationWestern ReclamationThe Wynyard Quarter is a reclaimed piece of land on the Waitemata Harbour at the western edge of the Auckland waterfront, New Zealand....
, large industrial area east of the bridge, possible southern end of second crossing
External links
- Historical photos (from the Transit New ZealandTransit New ZealandTransit New Zealand was, from 1989 to 2008, the New Zealand Crown entity responsible for operating and planning the New Zealand State Highway network...
website) - Get Across (website advocating a Harbour Bridge walking and cycling facility)