Auckland City Council
Media release

1 October 2009

Bridge opening marks milestone in major transport project

The Central Connector will be completed and Grafton Bridge reopened three months ahead of schedule this weekend.

Aucklanders will get an opportunity to celebrate when Grafton Bridge officially reopens with a special civic ceremony on Sunday, 4 October at 11am. The event will be followed by an open day, as part of the Auckland Heritage Festival with heritage tours, live music and vintage vehicle displays.

The bridge will reopen to traffic on 5 October, and will operate as a buslane between 7am and 7pm, weekdays. Emergency vehicles, cyclists, motorcyclists and pedestrians will have access at all times.

Mayor of Auckland city, Hon. John Banks will mark the occasion, alongside family members of former Mayor Charles Grey, who first opened Grafton Bridge in 1910.

As part of the official ribbon cutting ceremony, a family member of Mr Grey will present the Mayor with the original scissors used to open the bridge 99 years ago.

Grafton Bridge is an important part of the Central Connector – a dedicated bus priority corridor linking the CBD and Newmarket and the council’s most significant transport project since the completion of Britomart.

The LINK bus service will begin using the route immediately with more to be added over the next few months in anticipation of ONTRACK completing work on the Park Road overbridge later this year The bus lanes are planned to reach full capacity by February 2010.

When completely operational, the Central Connector will provide 65,000 Aucklanders each weekday with quicker, more reliable bus travel between Newmarket and the CBD and key locations such as the University Learning Quarter, Auckland City Hospital, the Medical School and Auckland Domain.

It will also link bus passengers with trains and buses at Britomart, ferries at Downtown, bus lanes on Khyber Pass Road and future rail connections on Park Road.

“The completion of this project is a significant milestone in our plans to further improve the city’s transport infrastructure by providing the means for reliable and efficient public transport,” says Mr Banks.

In addition to providing improved public transport, the new landscaping, planting, footpaths, street furniture and shared cycle lanes will improve the safety and attractiveness of the area for cyclists and pedestrians.

“This project is a tangible example of our commitment to fast and efficient public transport as a vital component of a world-class city,” says Mr Banks.

Key facts

Central Connector:

• Central Connector Construction began in April 2008 and will be completed in October 2009 - over three months ahead of schedule.

• The route runs from Khyber Pass Road - Park Road - Grafton Bridge - Symonds Street - Anzac Avenue - Customs Street - Britomart.

Grafton Bridge:

• Construction began in 1908

• Opened in 1910, one year before the Auckland Town Hall and two before the Central Post Office.

• In 1910 Grafton Bridge was regarded as the world’s longest single-span concrete bridge

• 98m (320 feet) long, 43m (142 feet) high

• On the New Zealand Historic Places listing and the IPENZ Engineering Heritage Register

• A 2006 poll of University of Auckland School of Engineering alumni placed the bridge third on the list of New Zealand’s engineering achievements, after the Manapouri Power Station and America’s Cup yacht Black Magic.

Please find attached historical information about Grafton Bridge:

SKMBT_C25309100111450.pdf

ENDS

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