Hamilton’s new river bridge to Peacocke has celebrated another exciting achievement with the final form of the bridge revealed.
The final girder segment was lifted into place recently with the aid of the country’s second largest crawler crane.
“The girder lift was a milestone moment in that the bridge’s superstructure is now finished,” Hamilton City Council executive director strategic infrastructure Andrew Parsons says.
“The bridge doesn’t have a proper deck, handrails or lighting yet but the final form of the bridge is now complete. It’s stunning and there’s nothing like it in Hamilton.”
The bridge beams will be visible under the bridge deck and are made from the same type of weathering steel used for the central V-shaped pier.
With the bridge’s span across the river completed, the crawler crane will now be tasked with lifting a pedestrian bridge into place across the new Wairere Drive extension, at the river bridge’s northern end. The footbridge was fabricated locally by PFS Engineering in Riverlea.
The bridge contract was awarded in 2020, with work starting in October of that year. At $160.2 million, it’s the largest capital contract awarded by council and includes the building of new roads in Peacocke.
Parsons says the bridge is not only a significant transport connection for the new community in Peacocke but it will also enable essential services to support residential development. Hidden inside the girders are pipes for water, wastewater and cables for electricity and internet.
“The bridge also represents our biggest investment in environment and ecological outcomes.
“If you look at the bridge with no central pier in the river there are large areas underneath where bats can fly. These design elements contribute to the environmental outcomes from our investment.”
To get the best view of activity at the bridge site, people are encouraged to access the shared path between Hamilton Gardens and Howell Avenue off Cobham Drive.
Peacocke is being built with the support from the Government’s Housing Infrastructure Fund, made up of a $180.3 million 10-year interest-free loan and $110.1 million of Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency subsidies.
The Peacocke programme will deliver a new bridge, a transport network that caters for public transport, pedestrians and cyclists, parks, and strategic water, wastewater and stormwater networks. Other work includes protecting and enhancing the environment, including the extensive gully system, opening the area to the Waikato River, and investigating community facilities which are also important parts of creating a new community in Peacocke.
When completed, Peacocke will be home for up to 20,000 Hamiltonians.
