Auckland Harbour Bridge: All eight lanes now open after crash that damaged strut

Tuesday, 6 October 2020

The new harbour bridge strut is loaded on a truck to be delivered to Auckland.

All eight lanes of the Auckland Harbour Bridge have finally re-opened, Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency has announced.

The bridge has been operating at reduced capacity since September 18, when a freak wind gust blew a truck into the bridge, damaging a strut.

Last week, a temporary strut was installed on the bridge to allow more lanes to reopen and ease heavy congestion.

On Sunday, a new permanent strut was successfully installed.

The Auckland Harbour Bridge has been restored to full capacity.

* Auckland Harbour Bridge: New bridge strut successfully installed, southbound lanes to reopen at 9am

* Auckland Harbour Bridge: Video shows permanent fix to damaged bridge underway

The new Harbour Bridge strut was successfully installed on Sunday.

The NZTA said the moveable lane barrier would be back in operation overnight to allow five southbound lanes to be open in time for the morning travel peak on Wednesday.

“We know the last two and a half weeks have been frustrating for bridge users, especially at peak times, and we are as pleased as everyone else that we have been able to repair the damage and get it operating at full capacity much sooner than we had initially thought,” Waka Kotahi general manager of transport services Brett Gliddon said.

The agency had been monitoring the new strut and its load-bearing function and it was “performing well”, he said.

With no damage to other parts of the bridge, Gliddon said it could now function with all eight lanes for the first time in two-and-a-half weeks.

“We are grateful for the understanding and support we’ve had while we have worked as quickly as possible to safely repair the bridge and re-open all lanes.”

Motorists have been encouraged to use public transport or the Western Ring Route instead of the bridge over the past two weeks and Gliddon said there had been about a 30 per cent reduction in the number of vehicles crossing it on weekdays during the morning peak.

“The Auckland Harbour Bridge has been a vital part of Auckland’s transport system for more than 60 years and we are pleased we have been able to retain its long-term structural integrity to ensure it continues to perform as part of the city’s overall transport system.”