Pukete Bridge is a concrete

box girder bridge A box girder bridge, or box section bridge, is a bridge in which the main beam (structure), beams comprise girders in the shape of a hollow box. The box girder normally comprises prestressed concrete, structural steel, or a composite ma ...

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: * Alexander Hamilton (1755/1757–1804), first U.S. Secretary of the Treasury and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States * ''Hamilton'' (musical), a 2015 Broadway musical by Lin-Manuel Miranda ** ''Hamilton'' (al ...

, New Zealand, spanning the

Waikato River The Waikato River is the longest river in New Zealand, running for through the North Island. It rises on the eastern slopes of Mount Ruapehu, joining the Tongariro River system and flowing through Lake Taupō, New Zealand's largest lake. It th ...

. The bridge connects the western and eastern stretches of Wairere Drive. In February 2011 an upgrade began including expand the number of lanes from two to four. It was originally expected to be completed in late 2013, but was finished in May 2013. During the early part of 2011 thousands of tonnes of earth were removed by truck and taken 3 km to build up 2 large earth ramps as part of the

New Zealand State Highway 1 State Highway 1 (SH 1) is the longest and most significant road in the New Zealand state highway network, New Zealand road network, running the length of both main islands. It appears on road maps as SH 1 and on road signs as a white number 1 o ...

bypass at

Horotiu Horotiu is a small township on the west bank of the Waikato River in the Waikato District of New Zealand. It is on the Waikato Plains north of Hamilton, New Zealand, Hamilton and south of Ngāruawāhia. From early in the 20th century it devel ...

. As the original road had been built largely in a gully, this included the removal of trees and other vegetation planted on the gully sides to block traffic noise. The existing cycle lane will be incorporated in the new roadway and a new three-metre-wide cycle and pedestrian clip-on added on the southern side of the bridge. By Easter 2013 4 laning was complete. The cycle lane has acoustic barrier of blue and yellow plastic panels which prevent views of the river from vehicles on the south side. The yellow panels signify the kowhai trees lining the banks of the river, and the blue panels represent the water and sky. The north side of the bridge has been lined with crash barriers to prevent cars crashing into the river after an accident. A driver was killed in 2012 after her 4-wheel drive went out of control and plunged through the barrier into the river. Traffic at Pukete Bridge in 2006 was 25,200 vehicles a day. In 2018 it was 38,400.

References

Box girder bridges Concrete bridges in New Zealand Bridges over the Waikato River Bridges completed in 1996 Bridges in Hamilton, New Zealand 1990s architecture in New Zealand {{NewZealand-bridge-struct-stub