Collaboration restores damaged Auckland Harbour Bridge

When a truck was blown over in high winds and damaged an integral part of the Auckland Harbour Bridge, we sprang into action alongside Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency and our Auckland System Management (ASM) alliance partners.

Spanning Waitematā Harbour, Auckland Harbour Bridge is a local and national landmark, and critical piece of transport infrastructure. It is also a structure that Beca has been proud to have worked on for more than 25 years.

On 18 September 2020, a freak 127 km/hr gust of wind caused a container truck travelling over the central span of the bridge to strike a main diagonal member. This caused severe damage to the bridge structure and a significant reduction in its capacity to carry vehicles. 

The central four lanes of the bridge were immediately closed by Waka Kotahi to ensure the safety of bridge users – and with upwards of 170,000 vehicles traversing the bridge each day, the economic and social impact required an urgent response.

In close collaboration with our ASM partners, we rapidly mobilised to assess the damage and plan the repairs needed to get the bridge back into safe operation as soon as possible. Our partners include the Fulton Hogan and HEB Joint Venture, SRG Global - which is responsible for the maintenance contractor, and WSP - responsible for asset management of the bridge.

Our civil structures team swiftly modelled the design of the permanent solution and monitored its installation on site, to help get Auckland safely and quickly moving again. 

In addition to structural integrity, careful attention was paid to the appearance of the new member – befitting the landmark status and heritage values of the bridge. 

The entire solution was designed, modelled, fabricated and installed, in just over two weeks to the great relief of the travelling public in Auckland.