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Lower Hatea Te Matau a Pohe Bascule Bridge

The Te Matau a Pohe Rolling Bascule bridge, formally known as Lower Hatea River crossing, is a lift bridge located within the city of Whangarei, Northland, New Zealand. The crossing provides an alternative option for traffic travelling around the city, helping to ease congestion. The bridge is the only operational one of its kind in New Zealand and one of a very few for road traffic in the world.

Key facts

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Location

Whangarei, New Zealand

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Client

Whangerai District Council

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In Partnership with

McConnell Dowell, Peters & Cheung, Knight Architects, Transfield Services, McRaes, McKays

Peters and Cheung, structural consultants, first approached Eadon Consulting about the project in 2010. Peters and Cheung formed a design team consisting of themselves, Eadon Consulting and Knight Architects. The team supported the main contractors, McConnell Dowell and Transfield Services, with the design of all apsects of the bridge. Eadon’s role was the design of the operating equipment and mechanical elements. Working alongside McRaes, hydraulic subcontractors and McKays, electrical subcontractors, Eadon staff began design work in May 2011.

Hydraulic cylinders being factory tested

Powered by a sophisticated hydraulic system, the bridge comprises of a 265m long viaduct with a 25m lifting span to allow yachts to pass and more than 1.5km of approach road. The bridge has a clear height of 7.5m above high water at the central span meaning that most vessels are able to pass underneath without the bridge being raised. The moving deck is lifted by a pair of hydraulic cylinders which have a bore of 320mm, a rod of 280mm diameter, a stroke travel of 8380mm and a weight of 8 tonnes each.

Eadon Consulting provided support to the project from the first client meeting at tender stage through initial concept and options studies, detailed design, works and site visits and on to final client handover.

Feb 2018 News update: The bridge has successfully completed 10,000 operations.