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Auckland Harbour Bridge in Auckland is an eight-lane road bridge over the Waitemata Harbour, connecting Saint Marys Bay in Auckland City with Northcote in North Shore City, New Zealand. It runs for 1.15 kilometers measuring upto 43.27 m above high water. It is a division of the Northern Motorway running from the Central Motorway Junction in downtown Auckland to Orewa. Traffic reaches a standstill during peak hours. Features of Auckland Harbour Bridge in Auckland: - It took four years for the bridge to come into being. The bridge was inaugurated on 30th May, 1959 by Prime Minister Sidney Holland. Foyur men died while the bridge was being built, whose names re inscribed on memorial tablets below the bridge at Northcote end.
- The bridge was constructed as a toll bridge flanked by toll booths at the northern corner.
- The booths were removed on 30th March, 1984 when the government decided to stop to tolling.
- It was formerly built with four lanes. It became necessary to add more lanes to the bridge to allow free flow of the traffic. The bridge now had eight lanes. The lanes were constructed by Japanese contractors (Ishikawajima-Harima Heavy Industries Ltd), which imparted a nickname 'Nippon clip-ons'.
- With heavy traffic during rush hours, there are ongoing talks for the building of another harbor crossing.
- The (Auckland City) Council in collaboration with Transit New Zealand, the ARC, and the North Shore City Council are preparing to find other alternative resolves to the construction of a second crossing of the Waitemata Harbour to prevent traffic congestion during peak hours.
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