Claudelands Bridge is a dual-lane

truss A truss is an assembly of ''members'' such as beams, connected by ''nodes'', that creates a rigid structure. In engineering, a truss is a structure that "consists of two-force members only, where the members are organized so that the assembl ...

road bridge over the

Waikato River The Waikato River is the longest river in New Zealand, running for through the North Island. It rises on the eastern slopes of Mount Ruapehu, joining the Tongariro River system and flowing through Lake Taupō, New Zealand's largest lake. It th ...

, joining

Claudelands Claudelands is a suburb directly to the east of central Hamilton, New Zealand, across the Waikato River. It is linked to the central city by the Claudelands road bridge and the East Coast Main Trunk Railway bridge. History Miropiko Pā, at R ...

with

Hamilton Central Hamilton Central is the central business district of Hamilton, New Zealand. It is located on the western banks of the Waikato River. Demographics Hamilton Central covers and had an estimated population of as of with a population density of ...

. In 1968 it was converted from the old

railway Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

bridge, which had been completed about the end of July 1883. The road bridge was given a Category 2 listing in 1985. Around 11,000 vehicles a day use the bridge. The bridge is the second busiest CBD route for cyclists, with 135 in peak hours in 2009 and a rising trend. To make the bridge safer for the 600 cyclists a day,

sharrows A shared lane marking, shared-lane marking, or sharrow is a street marking installed at various locations worldwide, such as New Zealand, Australia, Canada, Spain, and the United States. This marking is placed in the travel lane to indicate where ...

are being added to the lane markings in 2019. Buses to

Rototuna Rototuna is a suburb in northern Hamilton, New Zealand, east of Flagstaff. It is one of the newest and fastest-growing suburbs in Hamilton, along with neighbouring Huntington and Flagstaff. Sometimes the name Rototuna is used to collectivel ...

and route 11 cross the bridge. A new railway bridge, opened on 19 September 1964, a few metres downstream, replaced the old with a 7-span,

pre-stressed concrete Prestressed concrete is a form of concrete used in construction. It is substantially "prestressed" ( compressed) during production, in a manner that strengthens it against tensile forces which will exist when in service. Post-tensioned concreted i ...

box girder bridge A box girder bridge, or box section bridge, is a bridge in which the main beams comprise girders in the shape of a hollow box. The box girder normally comprises prestressed concrete, structural steel, or a composite of steel and reinf ...

. The spans are supported by

reinforced concrete Reinforced concrete (RC), also called reinforced cement concrete (RCC) and ferroconcrete, is a composite material in which concrete's relatively low tensile strength and ductility are compensated for by the inclusion of reinforcement having hig ...

piers Piers may refer to: * Pier, a raised structure over a body of water * Pier (architecture), an architectural support * Piers (name), a given name and surname (including lists of people with the name) * Piers baronets, two titles, in the baronetages ...

, resting on in-situ cast piles. The bridge, built by Wilkinson and Davies Construction Co Ltd (involved in a 1959 contract law case and deregistered in 1967), is about lower than the road bridge, being above the normal river level. It was the first bridge in the country to be stressed with a 100-ton Freyssinet cable.

Old railway bridge history

Rail track Hamilton, Hamilton city, New Zealand

The bridge was designed in 1880 and the £5,519 contract let on 3 November 1881 to W. Sims. Although

Sir George Grey Sir George Grey, KCB (14 April 1812 – 19 September 1898) was a British soldier, explorer, colonial administrator and writer. He served in a succession of governing positions: Governor of South Australia, twice Governor of New Zealand, Go ...

turned the first sod of the railway extension at Claudelands in 1879, there seems to have been little publicity for that or the bridge, with only minimal mention in 1883. Ironwork for the bridge was reported as shipped in 1881. Progress was very slow, so the contract was re-let to J. R. Stone on 18 September 1882 for £4,312 13s 6d, plus the £1,376 cost (the £5,688 total would now be equivalent to just under $1m) of the four

cast Cast may refer to: Music * Cast (band), an English alternative rock band * Cast (Mexican band), a progressive Mexican rock band * The Cast, a Scottish musical duo: Mairi Campbell and Dave Francis * ''Cast'', a 2012 album by Trespassers William * ...

cylinders from

A & G Price A & G Price Limited is an engineering firm and locomotive manufacturer in Thames, New Zealand founded in 1868. History A & G Price was established in 1868 in Princes Street, Onehunga by Alfred Price and George Price, two brothers from Stroud, ...

. However, work stopped in November 1882, when it was realised the foundations were inadequate, requiring bracing of the cylinders and deepening of the foundations from 3 to . The bridge was completed on 21 September 1883 and used for construction trains, until the Hamilton-

Morrinsville Morrinsville is a provincial town in the Waikato region of New Zealand's North Island, with an estimated population of as of The town is located at the northern base of the Pakaroa Range, and on the south-western fringe of the Hauraki Plains. ...

railway opened on 1 October 1884. It was originally tested with a 117-ton load. To cope with greater loads, an extra cylinder was added to the original two on each side of the main channel, the 2 new cylinders being ordered from S Luke & Co for £2,354 in 1906, and the new deck from A & T Burt Ltd for £5,872 in 1907. Further strengthening was designed in 1934 to cope with the 135-ton K-Class locomotives. There was pressure for a footbridge from before the railway was opened, See also a newspaper report from 1893. A commission was appointed to investigate in 1906. With the widening and strengthening of the bridge, it was possible to build a footbridge in 1908, though there were complaints about the lack of lighting and cycling was banned. The footbridge was renewed in 1936. There was soon also pressure to remove the railway from the centre of the CBD. In 1912 the Borough Council suggested the line could be lowered. A 1938 plan was stopped by war in 1939. The National Roads Board then promoted it and, in September 1959, the Ministry of Works started the scheme to put the railway in a tunnel and replace the old bridge with one at the tunnel level. Claudelands_Bridge_construction_about_1882

Claudelands_Bridge_construction_about_1882

Utilities

From 1970 to 1974 33kV cables were laid across the bridge. Further wiring was done in 1988.

References

External links

{{Commons category, Claudelands Bridge Photos –
1890s

* [http://www.aucklandcity.govt.nz/dbtw-wpd/exec/dbtwpub.dll?BU=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.aucklandcity.govt.nz%2Fdbtw-wpd%2FHeritageImages%2Findex.htm&AC=QBE_QUERY&TN=heritageimages&QF0=ID&NP=2&MR=5&RF=HIORecordSearch&QI0=%3D%22NZG-19090210-32-2%22 1909 footbridge]
1920s train on bridge

1930 aerial photo of river and bridge

1947 aerial photo of river and bridge

1955 aerial photo of bridge and Hamilton station1882-1984 Hamilton City Libraries photos of railway bridge

1961 pontoons in place for new bridge

1963 new bridge

1960s Claudelands Rd construction

1964-9 new and old bridges

1972 road and rail bridges

Google street view
Bridges completed in 1883 Buildings and structures completed in 1964 NZHPT Category II listings in Waikato Buildings and structures in Hamilton, New Zealand Rail transport in Waikato Railway bridges in New Zealand Steel bridges in New Zealand Bridges in Waikato Bridges over the Waikato River