Auckland Harbor Bridge Repairs – NZTA Update After Overnight Improvements

Transport chiefs have apologized for Auckland’s “horrible” traffic problems after the damage to the harbor bridge.

Waka Kotahi NZ Transportation Agency General Manager of Transportation Services Brett Gliddon told reporters today that repair crews were still working on a permanent repair solution. Meanwhile, the bridge remained in a “vulnerable state”.

Heavy vehicles continue to be urged to avoid the bridge and use the western ring route.

Gliddon thanked the locals of Auckland for their patience during the “horrible” delays.

The repair team was sourcing the steel and working on the design, which would then have to be reviewed by other experts.

This would take a few weeks to complete and install.

Gliddon thanked all members of his team for working hard to try to get the traffic moving over the bridge again.

He said he was greatly relieved when temporary repairs allowed transportation crews to open two more lanes over the bridge this morning.

The teams would monitor the performance of the bridge every day.

“Because if we have any concerns, we will shut it down 100% again,” Gliddon said.

NZTA still didn’t know how much the repairs would cost, the overnight repair was all about speed and safety.

A permanent solution was much more complex, Gliddon said.

The teams wanted to make sure any arrangement matched up well with the other parts of the bridge and did not put any additional stress on other parts of the structure.

Then it would have to be double or triple peer-reviewed by other experts, Gliddon said.

Auckland motorists have endured a painful week of grueling traffic jams stretching from the south of the city to the north and west.

A strange gust of wind on Friday morning blew a truck into a metal support strut, damaging the bridge and forcing engineers to close four of the eight lanes.

However, the perfect Auckland weather overnight helped work crews temporarily replace the prop with a newly fabricated steel section.

Engineers and specialist bridge builders evaluated the damage, designed the new strut, calculated and planned the repair, and fabricated the strut itself.

Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency said: “We had perfect weather conditions on the harbor bridge overnight and therefore progress was much faster than we expected.

“There was very little wind, good temperatures and visibility, which meant the team was able to install the new section and carry out the tests in one night.”

The correction meant three lanes were being opened to traffic coming from both sides of the bridge since early this morning.

NZTA said that while that was very positive for the public, it was important to note that the bridge is still “compromised,” so loads on it will need to be handled with care.

“This will remain until the permanent solution is in place and the bridge can again support its full weight capacity.”

Tests carried out with heavy vehicles before the reopening of the bridge

The team involved in the night work carried out real-life tests to ensure that the bridge met the necessary design specifications and requirements, NZTA said.

Heavy vehicles were brought in for that test.

However, overweight vehicles are not allowed across the bridge at this time, and they are asked to stay clear until the permanent fixture is installed.

Work is now moving towards permanent repair to reopen the bridge completely. But NZTA warned they could still be “weeks away.”

Most of that permanent fix involved calculating and peer reviewing the new permanent strut in relation to how it will affect the performance of the entire bridge.

“This includes careful calculations on how to rebalance its load bearing function.

“The new modeling is necessary because the materials in the new structure will not exactly match those that were installed 60 years ago.” The teams would monitor the performance of the bridge every day.