Harbour Bridge Extension Plans

Press, Volume CIII, Issue 30631, 23 December 1964, Page 3

Harbour Bridge Extension Plans

(New Zealand Press Association) WELLINGTON, December 22. The Government has given the Auckland Harbour Bridge Authority approval to go ahead with designing extensions to the present bridge.

The Prime Minister (Mr Holyoake) said today the interim report of De Leuw Cather and Company—the consultants who made the Auckland transport survey—endorsed the principle of adding to the present bridge. As an emergency step, the consultants recommended the immediate construction of an additional two lanes on the bridge’s eastern side.

“There are some doubts about the practicability of adding to the bridge’s capacity in this way—but that is a matter to be resolved by the consulting engineers to the Auckland Harbour Bridge Authority,” said Mr Holyoake. “The principle of major additions to the present bridge has now been endorsed —and the design work can be put in hand immediately. “In due course the author-

ity will submit its detailed proposals to the Government, and in the meantime it has my assurance that the Government is well aware of the urgent need for greater traffic capactty on the bridge,” he said.

Mr Holyoake said he had been keen to deal urgently with the transport survey’s findings in so far as the Auckland Harbour Bridge was concerned.