The final decision was made to have a four lane traffic bridge with no provision for rail or footpaths.ġ955 – Fabrication of the steel members for the bridge starts at the contractor’s yard in Britain.ġ956 – January 27 – Prime Minister Holland unveils the foundation tablet to mark the official start of construction.ġ958 – The famous ‘pick-a-back’ operation of November 29 saw the largest central span of the bridge at 480 feet (146 metres) long and weighing in at 2,000 tons floated across the harbour and into place. It was expressly forbidden from operating any other trans-harbour facility (ferries or a tunnel).ġ951 – 8 March – first meeting of the Auckland Harbour Bridge Authority.ġ953 – At the end of long negotiations with the British Government and the Local Government Loans Board, Prime Minister Sidney Holland grants funding on the condition that the bridge, its approaches and expenses must come in under £5,000,000. After twenty years of advocacy, momentum for a bridge was finally building.ġ950 – Parliament passes the Auckland Harbour Bridge Act on 1 December to establish the Auckland Harbour Bridge Authority, whose sole purpose was to “construct, maintain and control a bridge across the Waitemata Harbour from Point Erin to Stokes Point”. British bridge designers Messrs Freeman, Fox & Partners were asked to complete preliminary designs. Over the next four years, the Ministry of Works started site investigations and borings of the seabed along the proposed centre line of the bridge. A tunnel was rejected on the basis of cost. The fundamental requirements for a bridge were set out in the Commission’s report, including such critical details as the allowances for water mains underneath the bridge. However, it did identify that any bridge needed a navigation span of 800ft (243 metres) across the harbour.ġ943 – The Waitemata Harbour Bridge Association suggests a bridge as an employment project to help rehabilitate returned servicemen from World War II.ġ945 – The bridge association, with the support of the Automobile Association (external link) (AA Auckland) petitioned Parliament for another Royal Commission to investigate construction of a bridge.ġ946 – The Royal Commission on Trans-Harbour Facilities considers 1,271 pages of evidence and concludes that a bridge will be needed within 15 years. ![]() The cameras transmit images to the NZ Transport Agency’s traffic operations centre in Takapuna where operators can assess the traffic flow and organise emergency services and tow trucks if and when needed.īrowse the accompanying pages to learn the stories of Auckland’s bridge and how the NZ Transport Agency is looking at future crossings of the Waitemata as our population grows.Ī fixture on Auckland’s visual landscape for more than fifty years, the Auckland Harbour Bridge has seen its fair share of milestones, events and protests.ġ920 – The Auckland Canals and Waterways Commission adds ‘consideration for a bridge across the Waitemata Harbour’ to its agenda.ġ929 – A Royal Commission decides that with the present population, the expenditure of a bridge was not justified. A dedicated team of traffic engineers monitors the bridge via live cameras. ![]() More statistics about traffic volumes can be found in the State Highway Traffic reports.Īny delays to traffic on the bridge affect both the Southern and Northern State Highway 1 motorways, so sophisticated planning and management helps keep motorists and freight moving 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Situated on the nation’s main artery State Highway 1, more than a billion cars have travelled across the steel bridge since constructed.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |