Victoria Park Viaduct
Encyclopedia
Viaduct
A viaduct is a bridge composed of several small spans. The term viaduct is derived from the Latin via for road and ducere to lead something. However, the Ancient Romans did not use that term per se; it is a modern derivation from an analogy with aqueduct. Like the Roman aqueducts, many early...
carrying 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...
(State Highway 1) over the Victoria Park
Victoria Park, Auckland
Victoria Park is a park and sports ground in Auckland City, New Zealand. It lies on reclaimed bay land in Freemans Bay, a suburb directly west of the Auckland CBD. This origin of the land makes it very flat and level...
area in Auckland City
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...
, New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
. Construction began in 1959, and the bridge opened in 1961.
Due to the high traffic volumes passing through on their way to and from North Shore City, and because the viaduct is only four lanes wide in total (while adjacent motorway stretches are at least six lanes), the bridge over the park is considered "one of the country's worst traffic bottlenecks", with around 200,000 vehicles a day.
After improvements to the Central Motorway Junction
Central Motorway Junction
The 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...
directly to the south in the early 2000s, 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...
, the highways authority, initially proposed a widening of the viaduct, which met with opposition from locals as well as from the 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...
and the 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...
, because it would further burden the Victoria Park area with more traffic and a larger overpass structure. In 2004 the authority agreed that instead of a second viaduct, the 'Vic Park Tunnel' should be built, carrying northbound traffic only west of the existing structure, freeing it for southbound traffic.
See also
- Auckland Harbour BridgeAuckland Harbour BridgeThe 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...
- 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...
- 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...
- Victoria Park, AucklandVictoria Park, AucklandVictoria Park is a park and sports ground in Auckland City, New Zealand. It lies on reclaimed bay land in Freemans Bay, a suburb directly west of the Auckland CBD. This origin of the land makes it very flat and level...
- 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....