Auckland Harbour Bridge: NZTA hopeful all lanes could reopen within days

Monday, 5 October 2020

New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) is hopeful all the lanes on Auckland’s Harbour Bridge could be fully reopened in a matter of days, two weeks after it was damaged.

On Sunday a new permanent strut to replace the damaged one was successfully installed and was a step towards getting the bridge fully repaired and operational again, NZTA general manager transport services Brett Gliddon, said.

The new steel strut travelled in two pieces on Saturday to Auckland from Northland.

The bridge is currently operating at 75 per cent capacity, an NZTA spokesman said. He couldn’t give an exact date or time on when it would be fully reopened again but said it would likely be later in the week.

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“For now the bridge remains at the three by three configuration in both directions.”

Gliddon said NZTA would not be taking any risks and wouldn’t fully reopen the bridge until it was safe to do so.

“All going well, there will be no further overnight closures, and we could be able to open all lanes later in the week.

“We will provide more information in the days ahead so people can plan ahead and make informed travel choices.”

The damage to the Harbour Bridge happened when a freak gust of wind caused a truck to hit the bridge just over two weeks ago.

At around 11am on September 18, a 127kmh gust blew the truck into the bridge and damaged its structure.

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

People should continue to use public transport or the Western Ring Route instead of the bridge and allow extra rime for their journeys, Gliddon said.