Tauranga's New Harbour Bridge Officially Opened

The Harbour Link is the largest transportation project undertaken in the region to date, providing a continuous four lane expressway from Takitimu Drive in central Tauranga, across the harbour to Mount Maunganui.

The project is designed to alleviate the traffic congestion that has grown in parallel with Tauranga's increasing population, and to accommodate further predicted growth in the region.

The Harbour Link has been built as part of the Smart Transport initiative, formed by the NZ Transport Agency, Tauranga City Council, Environment BOP, Western BOP District Council and Environment BOP to coordinate land transport development in the Western Bay of Plenty.

With the official opening of the Harbour Link project, Beca has come full circle in the Bay. Twenty years ago Beca worked as project managers for the first harbour bridge in Tauranga which officially opened in 1988. Beca has been working with NZTA on the current project since the planning and feasibility stages in 1997, and with Fletcher Construction since 2006.

Apart from the highly detailed scheduling required to maintain traffic flows throughout the building of the project, a number of engineering challenges arose. Chief among these was the site geology, which revealed the potential for liquefaction in an earthquake, and strongly influenced the design of the structures as a result. In terms of engineering design, the viaduct that directly connects the two harbour bridges to Takitimu Drive is considered the most the most structurally complex section, with its numerous on- and off-ramps.