Auckland Harbour Bridge, Cantilever bridge in Auckland, New Zealand.
Auckland Harbour Bridge is a steel structure with eight lanes that stretches 1020 meters (roughly 3350 feet) across Waitemata Harbour, linking St Marys Bay with Northcote. Its construction consists of a box truss system that rises on supports above the water.
Freeman Fox & Partners designed the span, which Dorman Long built between 1956 and 1959 following years of debate and three Royal Commissions. Additional lanes were clipped onto the sides in 1969 to handle growing traffic between Auckland and the northern suburbs.
The name comes from Waitemata Harbour, a Māori term referring to the water that flows here between the city and the north shore. Colored LED lighting along the trusses turns the structure into a visible landmark above the dark water each evening.
The crossing is designed for vehicle traffic and is best viewed from the shoreline or experienced while driving across. Several lookout points along the bay offer clear views of the entire length of the structure.
A memorial plaque at the Northcote end beneath the bridge records the names of three of the men killed during construction; sources give the death toll as either three or four. The steel girder sections were fabricated in England, partly pre-assembled, then floated into place on barges. During one storm a drifting barge was held for 36 hours by the tugboat William C Daldy.
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