Auckland Harbor Bridge: new strut installed, tension work next step, southbound clip on rails to reopen at 9am

A new strut was successfully installed on the Auckland Harbor Bridge to replace the damaged one two weeks ago, and the southbound lanes will reopen at 9am Sunday.

“The new strut is now in place, which is great progress and a significant step forward in getting the bridge fully repaired and operational again,” said Waka Kotahi Transportation Services General Manager Brett Gliddon.

A team of engineers still had more work to do to tension the new strut, he said.

“This key component in this process involves redistributing the load capacity of the strut so that the weight distribution of the bridge returns to its pre-incident balance.

“This will include constant monitoring to assess how the entire bridge is performing now that the new strut is in place.”

The southbound clipped lanes that were closed overnight to allow work to be carried out safely will reopen at 9 a.m.

After the night work is completed, three lanes will be opened in each direction.

However, the bridge is not yet at full capacity. Two lanes in the central section remain closed.

Waka Kotahi is expected to make a further update later today on the timing of the next steps and the impact this will have on lane closures in the coming days.

“That means people should continue to use public transportation where they can, use the Western Ring Road instead of the Bridge, and allow enough time for their travels,” Gliddon said.

“The Auckland Harbor Bridge is a key strategic asset and it is critical that we maintain its long-term structural integrity by ensuring that no lasting damage or new stress occurs.

“We understand how disruptive and inconvenient it is for customers with the bridge operating at 75% of its capacity and we want to reopen all eight lanes as soon as possible.”

Installing the new strut and rebalancing the bridge’s load capacity was a “complex” operation, he said.

“Our bridge engineers, contractors and operations teams have worked extraordinarily hard over the past two weeks to find a solution, while innovating and responding in real time to keep traffic moving safely through the city.”

Gliddon said the strange event, in which a 127 km / h gust of wind overturned a truck and damaged the strut, was unprecedented in the bridge’s 61-year history.

“Waka Kotahi thanks our customers for their patience and understanding as we work as quickly and safely as possible to perform a permanent repair on the bridge that will open all eight lanes.”

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