30th May 1959 Auckland harbour bridge opened
The original four-lane Auckland harbour bridge was built across the narrowest part of Auckland Harbour, between St Marys Bay on the city side and Northcote Point on the North Shore. It took four years to complete.
Plans for a pedestrian walkway and a fifth traffic lane had been dropped for cost reasons. 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 three years. The enlarged bridge − the added lanes became known as the ‘Nippon clip-ons’ − was opened on 23 September 1969.
Image: North Shore Libraries
Internal links
External links
- The Nippon clip-ons (Te Ara)
- Building the bridge (North Shore libraries)
- Suzy’s World: Harbour bridge (Tree Hut)
- Auckland city communications (1966 encyclopaedia)
- Auckland’s ‘coat-hanger’ bridge – roadside stories (YouTube)
- http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/nz/
- http://www.nzhistory.net.nz/the-auckland-harbour-bridge-is-officially-opened
Roger Bennett 