September 21, 2020
Freak wind forces talk of new bridge
Te Taitokerau MP Kelvin Davis says the freak accident that has reduced access to his electorate has reignited consideration of a new harbour crossing.
A freak wind on Friday flung a truck carrying a container into a beam supporting the main arch.
The central lanes of the bridge are now closed, with traffic confined to the clip-ons.
Engineers are working on a temporary fix to the damaged beam, but it could be several weeks before a more permanent replacement is designed and built.
Mr Davis says any new route would be at least a decade away, but it’s important to start having the conversation.
"You’ve got to look at the route that any second harbour crossing would take. Is it a bridge? Is it a tunnel? People are going to be displaced most likely, their houses, their businesses, so there is a heck of a lot of thinking about this that has to go on and obviously we will be having those big discussions," he says.
Kelvin Davis says for now it means some of his constituents on the North Shore will need to work from home or face a slow journey to work.
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