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Engineers are assessing the damage and working on a temporary solution to reopen some center lanes of the Auckland Harbor Bridge after a truck overturned by high winds struck a key structure.
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Four lanes remain closed on the bridge after strong winds tore down two trucks on Friday. Source: 1 NEWS
Only the clipped lanes on either side of the bridge are currently open to traffic after Friday’s incident.
The Transportation Agency’s general manager for transportation services, Brett Gliddon, said one of the center struts was damaged and could take more than a month to replace.
“We have our engineers working on it. We have our contractors preparing, preparing their resources. We have the manufacturers lined up to start making the strut once we are ready,” he said.
Meanwhile, as a temporary measure, engineers have been considering using additional steel to return some load to the damaged strut, and this process could take up to a week, according to Gliddon.
“If we can do that, we may be able to reopen some of the lanes in the center stretch for light vehicles only. However, we have no guarantee of that until our engineers complete their work.”
Gliddon said the clips are not attached to the main frame, which means they can be used without worry.
He said Auckland Transport is working through the weekend to ensure there is enough capacity for commuters, but people are being asked to consider working from home or using public transport rather than traveling across the bridge.
“If you need to travel by vehicle, we encourage you to use the Western Ring Road, which is being designed exactly for this purpose as a reserve capacity throughout our network,” he said.
“With half the capacity off the bridge, the rest of the network will see some congestion, so people will have to be prepared for that and manage their trips accordingly.”
Gliddon said it’s the first time that has happened. He said that although the cost is still unknown, it will be covered by the Transportation Agency.
The Transportation Agency has said it is not concerned about the overall integrity and safety of the bridge.
