Bridge needs extra repairs

Press, 21 November 1987, Page 6

Bridge needs extra repairs

PA 7VeUington The Auckland Harbour Bridge, subject Of* $5 million salvage job to repair fatigue cracks, needs another $1 million of repair wort, says, the Ministry of Worts. Severe fatigue cracks in welds on the bolt-on outer lanes were discovered in 1985 soon after the bridge was taken over by the Ministry from the Harbour Bridge Authority. The Ministry has just completed a $5.4 million rewelding of the bolt-On sections: • '•; , At a National Roads Board meeting. Ministry engineers said a further $1 million of wort on other sections of the bridge would be needed within the next two or three years. The Ministry is now examining whether , it would be best to do the work now, while its highly skilled welding crew Is still together. The. outer lanes of the bridge have been closed to heavy traffic since the cracks were discovered and will not be reopened till special' weighbridge have been installed on the bridge approaches,, However, board members said that keeping heavy vehicles to the centre lanes had eased congestion by allowing faster moving light traffic to move up the steep grades on the outer lanes.

The board is now considering whether to leave the ban in place. The welding work on the bridge has been inspected by overseas bridge welding experts who praised the high .standard of the repairs.