The bridge\u2019s two distinctive giant curved shapes are almost 20m tall and represent M\u0101ori fishhooks, reflecting local traditions of fishing, navigation, and the cultural relationship with Whang\u0101rei Harbour.<\/p>\n
Te Matau a Pohe is one of Whang\u0101rei\u2019s most visible landmarks.<\/p>\n
There are around four million vehicle movements over it each year. That\u2019s about 11,000 daily, around 40% more than the 8000 it was originally designed for.<\/p>\n
Te Matau a Pohe will be closed for 24 hours for repairs from 6am Sunday, May 10, to Monday, May 11.<\/p>\n
The bridge and Dave Culham Drive will be closed to vehicles from Port Rd to Riverside Drive \u2013 with detours via Riverside Drive and Dent St. <\/p>\n
Pedestrians will be able to walk the bridge\u2019s footpaths unless there is an emergency.<\/p>\n
Repair backup dates have been scheduled for May 17 and 24.<\/p>\n
Its fishhooks are the main structural arms of the bridge\u2019s rolling bascule (lifting) mechanism. They allow the bridge deck to roll back and lift for boats.<\/p>\n
They each weigh 360 tonnes, their moving arms making the rolling motion possible and stable.<\/p>\n
A 25m section of the bridge opens to let boats through. The opening road section rolls backwards and upward along a curved track while the fishhook\u2011shaped beams roll with it, their 67\u2011tonne counterweights moving in the opposite direction to keep the system balanced.<\/p>\n
Whang\u0101rei Mayor Ken Couper said the cracks had developed in internal welds over time.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe need for these repairs was identified during a routine structural inspection, and the recommendation was to carry them out promptly to avoid any future damage or disruption,\u201d Couper said.<\/p>\n
Repairs to the welds were being done to ensure the structure\u2019s long-term durability.<\/p>\n
He said the welds had not failed or come apart.<\/p>\n
In a Whang\u0101rei District Council communication forwarded to boaties, the weld repairs were described as urgent.<\/p>\n
Whang\u0101rei Marina has advised boaties who might want to cross under the bridge during its closure to make alternative arrangements.<\/p>\n
Those who needed access under the bridge during that time could possibly be accommodated at the new Okara Marina, downstream of Te Matau a Pohe.<\/p>\n
The bridge was designed by British bridge specialists Knight Architects, in collaboration with New\u202fZealand engineers Peters &\u202fCheung (now Novare Design) and others, for the district council.<\/p>\n
Te Matau \u0101 Pohe connected the two sides of the river enabling the loop walkway.<\/p>\n
It has won more than a dozen national and international awards, including the transport infrastructure award and the supreme engineering excellence award at the 2014 New\u202fZealand Engineering Excellence Awards.<\/p>\n
Te\u202fMatau\u202f\u0101\u202fPohe means \u201cthe fishhook of Pohe\u201d, referring to Pohe, the rangatira who welcomed early European settlers to the Whang\u0101rei area.<\/p>\n
Cracks in internal welds are taken seriously because they occur in high-stress areas, a known fatigue issue in large steel bridges, and can usually be monitored and repaired long before safety is compromised.<\/p>\n
The way cracks in bridge steel are dealt with depends on crack size and length, whether they are growing and whether they affect primary load-carrying parts of the bridge such as its main beams, supports, and connecting pieces.<\/p>\n
In large steel bridges, weld cracks are typically repaired once they reach a few centimetres in length, show signs of growth, or occur in critical load-bearing locations.<\/p>\n
Repairs are usually triggered by crack growth or location, rather than waiting for large visible damage.<\/p>\n
\u25a0 LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Cracks have been found in welding inside the steel hook beams. Whang\u0101rei ratepayers paid about $17m towards the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":408701,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[74,210307,1565,651,40181,44966,210308,1874,78,2944,210304,1132,111,43,139,69,210305,21271,66952,7538,45080,8690,210306,3608,1869,57767,1533],"class_list":["post-408700","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-zealand","tag-after","tag-bascule","tag-bridge","tag-close","tag-cracks","tag-distinctive","tag-fishhookshaped","tag-found","tag-in","tag-inside","tag-matau","tag-million","tag-new-zealand","tag-news","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-pohe","tag-prompt","tag-repairs","tag-shutdown","tag-structures","tag-te","tag-welds","tag-were","tag-whangrei","tag-whangreis","tag-will"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/408700","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=408700"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/408700\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/408701"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=408700"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=408700"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=408700"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}