Returning the Te Wero Wynyard Crossing Bridge to service November explainer

Almost all the disassembled bridge parts have now been returned for reinstallation as the final stages of the Wynyard Crossing Bridge preventative maintenance works are underway. 

Visitors to Wynyard Quarter will have noticed main contractor, HEB Construction, has had their jack-up barge (JUB) in Viaduct Harbour doing the heavy lifting as the two enormous spans, back spans and engine rooms have been reassembled over the past few weeks, and the bridge starts to look like its old self again. 

The mechanical and electrical assembly has also been underway, with as much completed as possible in the individual pieces before their return. However, it’s only once the final structural pieces are in place the intricate job of connecting and commissioning can begin.

This final step is the most crucial with more than half a kilometre of cabling and wiring to connect, over one hundred light fittings to install and more than 60 sensors which ensure the safe and reliable operation of the bridge -  it’s not a simple job! While testing and quality control work has been ongoing as part of the refit during the maintenance works processes, it’s only once everything is back in place that the team are able to run checks and processes to ensure everything is collectively running as it should be.

During the next few weeks, while the commissioning and testing takes place, the bridge will look, for all intents and purposes, like it’s ready for people to walk, scoot and cycle across. However, it will remain closed to the public until the commissioning period has been completed and is fully signed off for public operation. People may notice the spans lifting and closing as part of the commissioning which is a normal part of this type of work.

While no opening date has yet been set, Eke Panuku is hoping to be able to confirm this in the next few weeks. In the meantime, the popular Hogwash ferry, which has clocked more than 100,000 passengers since it began operations, will continue to run between the Viaduct Events Centre and the New Zealand Maritime Museum, seven days a week. 

As well as being a handy way to get across from one side to the other, Hogwash also offers those interested a great view and perspective of the team working on the refit. Santa’s Elves will be providing some weekend fun for passengers leading up until Christmas.

The Te Wero Wynyard Crossing Bridge, an important link between Auckland city centre and the Wynyard Quarter, has been closed to the public since March 2024 to undergo a significant programme of preventative maintenance works.

This includes a full overhaul of old mechanical and electrical parts, sand-blasting and remedying steelwork and applying new protective coatings. At the completion of the physical works, a thorough commissioning process and acceptance tests will be conducted to ensure the bridge is reliable and safe for public use.

While the works are carried out, the bridge will remain closed to pedestrians. When the spans are in place, but the bridge is out of operation, the spans legally have to remain upright to allow free access to marine traffic, a condition of the bridge’s resource consent.

Because of the complexity of this project and the nature of the works, a date for the bridge to reopen to the public is still to be confirmed. As the project team get further through the programme and gain more certainty around remaining tasks, they will be able to more accurately specify a completion date.

There are two work programmes underway – structural, i.e. the physical bridge itself, and mechanical and engineering (M&E), i.e. everything needed to operate the bridge.

These programmes have been running concurrently and have integrated fully as we enter the final phases of this large, complex project and the bridge is reinstalled in Wynyard Quarter.