Our bridge is up
Wynyard Crossing, the opening bridge providing pedestrian and cycle access from the Auckland Viaduct to Wynyard Quarter, is almost complete. The first of nine RWC2011 'legacy projects' to be delivered by Waterfront Auckland, Wynyard Crossing provides a direct link from the end of Te Wero Island in the east, to Karanga Plaza in the west.
Project Manager Guy Dawson says the construction of Wynyard Crossing has been a challenging build within a busy area.
“Wynyard Crossing spans a 100 metre channel across the Viaduct Harbour, which caters for a large number of vessel movements per day. Charter boats, recreational craft, Team NZ, water taxis and super yachts all access this area, so the works programme needed to accommodate the fact that the channel needed to remain open, even if restricted at times.
“My thanks to all Viaduct Harbour users for their patience during this process and to the contractor, Brian Perry, for managing a sometimes difficult build.”
Over the next week contractors will continue to test the operation of Wynyard Crossing. The bridge will remain in an ‘open’ position until early August while construction works continue in either side of it.
How will Wynyard Crossing operate?
Wynyard Crossing is an opening ‘bascule’ bridge made up of four bridge spans supported by steel piles. The middle two 22 metre spans open to an almost vertical position to allow boats to beneath the bridge without the need for it to open.
The bridge movement will be managed by an onsite operator positioned at the western end of the crossing. The operator will ‘lift’ the bridge to open when requested by radio from vessels entering or leaving the Viaduct Basin. Pedestrians and cyclists will be given ample warning that the bridge is about to open with signals at either end.
Key Facts
• Bridge length 100m
• Bridge width 5m
• Bridge weight
• Bridge construction cost $2.8m
• Bridge time to build 6 months
• Bridge materials mainly structural steel
• 24 hour Bridge Operation: Time to open 1.5 minutes and 1 minute to shut