Watch: What it took to build Te Ara Pekapeka Bridge
Wednesday, 4 September 2024
With just a couple of further I’s to dot and Ts to cross traffic should be zooming its way across Hamilton’s newest bridge in the not too distant future.
When the time arrives for vehicles to use it, the speed limit on the bridge and Kairokiroki Drive will be 60kmh and surrounding roads 40kmh.
Planning of the $166.6m bridge and surrounding area began in 2019, and in that time the 180m long bridge, which is 26m wide, has been constructed using 3060 tonnes of structural steel and 36 steel girder segments installed to support the bridge deck.
Hidden in those girders is 4900m of essential pipes for water and wastewater, along with electricity and internet cables.
There are also more than 400 patterned concrete blocks from the bridge’s southern abutment retaining walls. Each block is moulded from hand-carved panels. The unique patterns of the blocks represent the whenua, whakapapa, and awa.
Cultural symbolism, tangata whenua values and storytelling have been incorporated into transport networks and three water infrastructure in the Peacocke area.
This has been done in partnership with the Southern Links Tangata Whenua Working Group, which is a group made up of local hapū who have ancestral connections to the Peacocke area.
Te Ara Pekapeka is the first traffic bridge to have no central pier in the river, an important feature for the iwi partners.
The Y-shaped pier is reminiscent of kete and woven flax and relates to the overarching idea of habitation, trade and travel.
The design on the pier's concrete base draws references from the ancient anchor of the Tainui waka and draws inspiration from a well-known saying about the Waikato River which uses a taniwha as a metaphor for chiefs.
‘Waikato taniwha rau, he piko he taniwha, he piko he taniwha’. Waikato of a hundred chiefs, on every bend a taniwha (chief).
The design depicts the casting of the fishing net used to gather kai from the river. A large eye or star faces the river, representing the many taniwha that inhabit the river and the Māori chiefs, ancestors and kaumatua that have passed.
The Taurapa Bridge, the pedestrian and cycling bridge on the northern side is 71m long and 4m wide is part of the project.
It’s made up of five steel sections with more than 200,000kg of weathering steel.
An exact time and date of the Te Ara Pekapeka Bridge opening to traffic will not be announced to manage traffic on the wider network and ensure public safety.