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Auckland Harbour Bridge
Providing a valuable and iconic link between Auckland City and the North Shore.
About the Auckland Harbour Bridge
The 1.2 kilometre structure is actually made up of three bridges. The section in the middle with the steep arches and flags on top, is the original four-lane 'truss' bridge that was built over four years by a team of 1000 men at a cost of £7,516,000. It was opened with tremendous excitement on 30 May 1959. The bridge was financed through tolls with cars and taxis paying 2s/6d (25c), motorcycles 1s/3d (15c), buses 5s (50c) and 4s (40c) for commercial vehicles. Within one year 4.9 million vehicles had crossed the bridge and by 1965 traffic rose to 9.3 million.
Within a relatively short time it was apparent that the bridge would not be able to cope with the rapidly growing North Shore population. The decision was made to extend the bridge from four lanes to eight lanes to increase its capacity and ease congestion. This was done by adding two box girder bridges to each side of the bridge at a cost of $7.4 million.
Designed and manufactured in Japan they instantly became known as the 'Nippon clip-ons' and were opened to traffic on 23 September 1969. With population and development north of the bridge continuing to grow, traffic across the bridge kept increasing and tolls were abolished in March 1984 by which time they had paid for the bridge.
By 1988 the number of vehicles crossing the Auckland Harbour Bridge each day had reached 120,000 and the number of head-on collisions was rising too. The Moveable Lane Barrier - the first ever permanent lane barrier system on a major bridge anywhere in the world - was introduced to manage traffic flows in a 'tidal' morning and evening peak system.
The most important bridge in New Zealand, the Auckland Harbour Bridge is one of the best maintained anywhere in the world. From day one comprehensive maintenance has been carried out and over the years there have been a number of major upgrades including seismic, wind loading and fatigue crack upgrades. Between 1985 and 1989, all heavy trucks were banned from using the clip-ons altogether while the fatigue crack upgrade took place.
In the last eight years alone, Transit has conducted annual, six and three month inspections and daily monitoring, painting and other more major maintenance at a cost of $3 million a year.
With around 60 new cars entering Auckland roads every day, traffic numbers across the bridge continue to grow and grow. The daily average is presently up around 165,000 vehicles, with some days more than 200,000 vehicle crossings recorded.
Now, nearly 50 years since the Auckland Harbour Bridge was first opened Transit is preparing to upgrade the strength of the bridge once more to cope with the increasing number of vehicles, especially heavy trucks, using it.
Preparation works for the upgrade started in April 2008, and the main strengthening works started in August. This involves strengthening the box girder clip-ons to enable them and the Harbour Bridge, to continue carrying traffic across the Waitemata Harbour between Auckland City and the North Shore.
History of the Auckland Harbour Bridge
Selected Extracts on the history of Auckland Harbour Bridge
| Title | Download |
|---|---|
| 1951-1961 The Auckland Harbour Bridge Authority (Extract) * | PDF (6.57MB) |
| 1951-1971 A Pictorial Record of 20 Years Activities* | PDF (5.16MB) |
| 1984 Auckland Harbour Bridge and Approaches (Extract) # | PDF (1.02MB) |
| Auckland Harbour Bridge: Growth - Past and Future (Extract) * | PDF (423KB) |
* Published by the Auckland Harbour Bridge Authority (now a defunct organisation)
# Published by the Ministry of Works (Transit's predecessor)
Flag Flying Policy
In 2007 Transit reviewed its policy for flying flags on the Auckland Harbour Bridge.
The Transit Board simplified the policy to allow Transit to focus on its core business of planning, building and operating the state highway network.
Transit chief executive Rick van Barneveld said as from 1 June 2007, the new policy would be:
The New Zealand flag will be the sole flag flown on the Auckland Harbour Bridge. It will be flown on both flagpoles and will fly at half-mast on occasions of national mourning as directed by the Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage.
"The Transit Board appreciates the interest many people have in what flag is flying on the bridge on any given day. However, our focus needs to be about the safe and efficient operation of the state highway network," Mr van Barneveld said.
View media release.
Conditions for Use of Auckland Harbour Bridge for Special Events
The Use of Auckland Harbour Bridge (AHB) for Special Events is limited to those which satisfy all of the following criteria:- The event is either a special occasion of significant international interest, i.e. Commonwealth Games, World Championships etc. or an event of international, national or substantial regional significance.
- The event has the support of the Auckland and North Shore City Council's.
- The application for use of the bridge for the event is accompanied by a written commitment from a manager/promoter to accept and abide by the conditions for the conduct of special events.
- Where the promoter has staged an event previously, there shall be a history of compliance with the Board's conditions for use of the Auckland Harbour Bridge including satisfactory clearance of any outstanding debts and no record of accidents or incidents of concern to the Board.
- The event is limited to registered participants and officials and no more than 7500 persons.
- The use of the AHB shall be between 6am and 9am on a weekend and at a time of year acceptable to Transit. Timing shall ensure that the bridge is fully operational for traffic by 9am.
- The organiser is to provide a detailed plan and programme for the event.
- The organiser shall provide adequate staff to control the event while it is on the AHB and adjacent motorway.
- Only the length of motorway between the Curran St on-ramp (immediately on the city side of the bridge) and the Onewa Rd off-ramp (the first on/off interchange on the north shore) shall be used and sufficient lanes of motorway shall remain open to facilitate the free flow of traffic likely to use the motorway during the staging of the event.
- All costs associated with the planning, design checks, advertising, signage, traffic control and lane closures shall be met by the organiser. A cash bond equivalent to 50% of the estimated cost for use of the AHB shall be required 4 weeks before the event.
- The organiser shall have in place a contingency plan acceptable to the NZ Police and Transit.
- The organiser is to note that the Motorways Branch of the NZ Police must be consulted in relation to approval of the event and the proposed traffic control.
- The organiser shall indemnify Transit against any claim whatsoever arising from the event and evidence of a satisfactory indemnity from an established financial institution shall be available for scrutiny by Transit not less than two weeks before the event.
- The full conditions of the closure shall be set by Transit and observed by the organiser and participants.
The Moveable Lane Barrier
The Moveable Lane Barrier – the first ever permanent lane barrier system on a major bridge anywhere in the world – was introduced in 1990 to manage traffic flows.
Moveable lane barriers improve traffic flow by increasing the number of available lanes and maximising capacity on the bridge during peak times through the so-called ‘tidal flow’ configuration.
In morning peaks the barrier is moved from a central position into a 5/3 (five lanes south and three lanes north) configuration to improve capacity for motorists heading towards the city. In the evening peak, the situation is reversed with the moveable lane barrier configuration switched to create five lanes north and three lanes south to improve northbound traffic flow across the Harbour Bridge.
Early next year NZTA will install a new barrier system, which includes two new lane barrier moving vehicles. The new moveable lane barrier will help streamline operations on the bridge as traffic can be moved in just 20 minutes which is half the time it takes to move the existing barrier.
Cycling and walking options
An investigation into walking and cycling options across the Waitemata Harbour, including options on the Auckland Harbour Bridge, are progressing. The technical work required to support the consideration of options is now complete.
Representatives of regional partners Auckland Regional Council, Auckland Regional Transport Authority, New Zealand Transport Authority, Auckland City Council, and North Shore City Council, who are already working together on plans for an additional Waitemata harbour crossing, will consider the outcomes of the technical investigation and report back to their respective organisations.
Auckland Harbour Bridge box girder strengthening project
The NZ Transport Agency has started work on the box girder strengthening project. Visit the new website for the Auckland Harbour Bridge and find out more.