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Kiwi of the Week
Today in History
30 May
1959 Auckland harbour bridge opened
The original four-lane Auckland harbour bridge was built between St Marys Bay on the city side and Northcote Point on the North Shore, crossing the narrowest part of Auckland Harbour. It had taken four years to complete.
The original plans for the bridge included a pedestrian walkway and a fifth traffic lane, but to cut costs these were dropped from the final plans. By the early 1960s, however, it was apparent that the bridge was inadequate for the amount of traffic it was required to handle. A Japanese company won the tender to add two lanes on either side. This project, which included extensive expansion of the approach roads, took a further three years. The enlarged bridge − the added lanes became known as 'the Nippon clip-ons' − was opened on 23 September 1969.
Image ref: North Shore libraries
External links
- Bridging the gap (North Shore libraries)
- Suzy's World: Harbour bridge(Tree Hut)
- Auckland city communications (1966 encyclopaedia)
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