Scrap it, sell it, put it in a museum: Here's what NZ could do with the damaged Auckland Harbour Bridge strut

Thursday, 24 September 2020

Timelapse video shows temporary repairs on Auckland Harbour Bridge.

The future is uncertain for an iconic piece of Auckland engineering history.

With all the concern about the future of Auckland’s Harbour Bridge, little thought has been given to the damaged strut that has caused all the commuter chaos.

What will become of this 22m long, warped piece of historical infrastructure?

Well, here are some possible final resting places for the beam that slowed down a city:

A support beam on Auckland’s Harbour Bridge was damaged after a gust of wind blew a truck over, smashing into it.

Trade Me

It wouldn’t be the first piece of historical infrastructure sold off on the Kiwi auction website.

* Auckland Harbour Bridge: More signs added to closed on-ramp after long delays

The Harbour Bridge lane closures caused traffic mayhem across Auckland.

* Auckland Harbour Bridge damage: How it happened and what needs to be done to get it fixed

The 'unruly' group of tourists attracted attention around New Zealand in 2019 (video first published January 2019).

Tools and equipment used to build Auckland's $1.4 billion Waterview tunnel hit Trade Me in 2018, upon the tunnel’s completion.

And further south, thousands of chairs from Christchurch's earthquake-damaged Lancaster Park were auctioned off and ended up in the hands of more than 53 different community and sport groups.

The bridge beam now has a story, and genuine history behind it.

And as Trade Me spokesperson Millie Silvester said, that’s exactly what people buy.

Alan Gibbs at his Kaipara Harbour farm and art sculpture park.

“Auctions inspired by big news events often ignite the imagination of the country and sometimes even the world,” she said.

“If a damaged piece of the Auckland Harbour Bridge went up for auction onsite right now, we reckon the iconic structure would get thousands of views from frustrated drivers and Kiwis around the country, along with a lot of bids.”

Big news sells on Trade Me, so it’s fair to assume the twisted chunk of metal would fetch a decent price at auction.

The most popular Trade Me listing of 2019 was related to the unruly tourists.

A seller listed an identical Bunnings Warehouse hat to that worn by a young member of the family that “may or may not” have belonged to them.

The harbour bridge was built in the 1950s and was originally just the inner four lanes.

Similarly, in 2018, the most popular listing was a piece of yellow sandpaper titled ‘Australian Sports Tape’ after the Australian cricket team’s ball tampering scandal.

Sculpture park

Waka Kotahi general manager transport services Brett Gliddon on the next steps for Auckland's Harbour Bridge

The perfect addition to one of the city’s hidden gems: Grey Lynn Park.

It’s local, meaning transporting the 22m long structure five minutes up the road wouldn’t be as hard as say, getting it to Alan Gibbs’ north Auckland sculpture farm.

Nestled in Grey Lynn Park is an interesting and varied display of sculptural works by several local artists.

The collection on the eastern side of the park is a pleasure to walk through, though could certainly be improved by a feature piece.

Perhaps something bold, bent and broken. A true statement piece.

Museum

MOTAT, Auckland’s museum of both transport and technology makes a whole lot of sense.

The strut could be fixed it to the ground for school kids to climb and swing all over during field trips, or used as a bespoke entrenceway – the possibilities are endless.

But chief executive Michael Fawley wasn’t sure the warped piece of infrastructure would be the right fit.

“We are flattered to be thought of as the final resting place for this twisted piece of an iconic landmark,” he said.

“However, its components were designed and constructed by Freeman, Fox and Partners, Dorman Long and Cleveland Bridge and Engineering in England, so in this case [it is] respectfully not a feat of Kiwi innovation and engineering which is the focus of the MOTAT collection.

“Also, I’m not sure if we have the security in place to control the emotional outpour from the hordes of Aucklanders coming to pay their respects to the severed component, and to curse it for the travel chaos it caused.”

On balance Fawley said he would decline the beam, instead adding, in the infamous words of Hayden Donnell, “get it to Te Papa”.

Scrap metal

It would seem criminal to melt down a piece of history, but if NZTA need to cover some costs for all the extra hours engineering staff have worked to repair the bridge, the strut could fetch a decent price.

The going rate for steel is about $1 per kilogram.

The damaged beam weighs four tonnes, so could be worth about $4000.

What should NZ do with the strut? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.