The Onehunga Harbour Road Bridge is a

walking Walking (also known as ambulation) is one of the main gaits of terrestrial locomotion among legged animals. Walking is typically slower than running and other gaits. Walking is defined as an " inverted pendulum" gait in which the body vaults o ...

and

cycling Cycling, also known as bicycling or biking, is the activity of riding a bicycle or other types of pedal-driven human-powered vehicles such as balance bikes, unicycles, tricycles, and quadricycles. Cycling is practised around the world fo ...

bridge A bridge is a structure built to Span (engineering), span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or railway) without blocking the path underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, whi ...

over Onehunga Harbour Road, a heavily trafficked road at the southwestern edge of

Onehunga Onehunga is a suburb of Auckland in New Zealand and the location of the Port of Onehunga, the city's small port on the Manukau Harbour. It is south of the city centre, close to the volcanic cone of Maungakiekie / One Tree Hill. Onehunga is ...

, New Zealand. The bridge provides easy and safe access from Onehunga to both the

Waikaraka Cycleway The Waikaraka Cycleway is an off-road cycleway in the south of the Auckland isthmus, New Zealand, running from the suburb of Wesley along New Zealand State Highway 20 to Onehunga and then continuing along the shoreline of the Manukau Harbour ( ...

running west–east, and Old Mangere Bridge to the south, which in turn links over the Mangere Inlet mouth of the

Manukau Harbour The Manukau Harbour is the second largest natural harbour in New Zealand by area. It is located to the southwest of the Auckland isthmus, and opens out into the Tasman Sea. Geography The harbour mouth is between the northern head ("Burnett ...

. The bridge is 3.5m wide, and distinguished by its sweeping, curved structure.

History

The crossing of Onehunga Harbour Road was historically very difficult, as traffic was fast and heavy with over 15,000 vehicles daily (due to the nearby port and the motorway ramps), and sightlines for motorists were also limited by the strong curve of the road in the vicinity. The design of the bridge was developed in communication with local community groups and the cycling advocate group

Cycle Action Auckland Bike Auckland (Bike AKL), formerly Cycle Action Auckland (CAA) is a pro-cycling advocacy group in Auckland, New Zealand. The predominantly volunteer group aims to improve infrastructure and conditions, as well as perceptions of cycling to encou ...

, as an ancillary project to the State Highway 20 duplication of the nearby

Māngere Bridge Māngere Bridge may refer to: *Māngere Bridge (suburb), a suburb of Auckland *Māngere Bridge (bridges) Māngere Bridge, officially also called the Manukau Harbour Crossing, is a dual motorway bridge over the Manukau Harbour in south-weste ...

motorway bridge. It was completed in 2010, with the construction team having to overcome various issues with difficult ground, some of the piles having to be sunk up to 30m deep through volcanic deposits to local sandstone bedrock. A nearby underpass under SH20, connecting on from the bridge to Onehunga, was also upgraded as part of the project.

References

Bridges in Auckland Pedestrian bridges in New Zealand Cyclist bridges in New Zealand Bridges completed in 2010 2010s architecture in New Zealand Onehunga {{Auckland-struct-stub

History

See also

References