Victoria Bridge (originally known as the Hamilton Traffic Bridge and later also as The Bridge Street Bridge) is a steel

arch bridge An arch bridge is a bridge with abutments at each end shaped as a curved arch. Arch bridges work by transferring the weight of the bridge and its loads partially into a horizontal thrust restrained by the abutments at either side. A viaduct ...

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: People * Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname ** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland ** Lord Hamilt ...

, New Zealand. The bridge has a Category I heritage protection. The bridge has a main arch of and 4 land spans. Its total length is . The road is wide and the footpath . It cost £25,500, equivalent to over $4m in 2017. It replaced the 1879 timber Union Bridge. In 1929 stone steps were built beside the western end of the bridge to link to Ferry Bank.

Location and names

The bridge connects the suburbs of

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 ...

and Hamilton East. The bridge was designed by James Fulton, and G M Fraser was the contractor. Work erecting the bridge, which was pre-fabricated in England by the

Cleveland Bridge & Engineering Company Cleveland Bridge & Engineering Company was a UK bridge works and structural steel contractor based in Darlington. It built landmarks including the Victoria Falls Bridge in Zimbabwe; the Tees Transporter Bridge; the Forth Road and Humber suspe ...

, started in 1909. The road that goes over the bridge has changed names several times. Up until 1930, the road was known as Richmond Street. A commemorative plaque refers to it as Hamilton Road, though. The name changed to Bridge Street. The latest name change happened in November 2015, when the road was officially renamed as Anzac Parade.

Repairs

In 1919 the western

king post A king post (or king-post or kingpost) is a central vertical post used in architectural or bridge designs, working in tension to support a beam below from a truss apex above (whereas a crown post, though visually similar, supports items above fro ...

s needed strengthening. A decade later, the foundations had spread and the crown of the arch had dropped . Over the next 3 years the foundations spread up to a further ⅜in. and the crown settled up to another inch. Also the deck

reinforcing In behavioral psychology, reinforcement is a consequence applied that will strengthen an organism's future behavior whenever that behavior is preceded by a specific antecedent stimulus. This strengthening effect may be measured as a higher freq ...

was very corroded. 6.5 ton and 10 mph limits were imposed. It was repaired and jacked up in 1937.

Heritage registration

On 30 August 1990, the bridge was registered as a Category I 'Historic Place' with the New Zealand Historic Places Trust (now known as

Heritage New Zealand Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga (initially the National Historic Places Trust and then, from 1963 to 2014, the New Zealand Historic Places Trust) ( mi, Pouhere Taonga) is a Crown entity with a membership of around 20,000 people that advocate ...

Present day

In 2010, the bridge celebrated its 100th year with a party in the park and unveiled a permanent interactive LED lighting system designed to illuminate the bridge for 10–15 years. This project was funded via a donation from the Perry Foundation. The party in the park featured a parade containing people in period costume and classic cars and rides and events for children. The event culminated in the display of a specially commissioned film projected onto a large screen next to the PS ''Rangiriri'', Hamilton's historic paddle steamer in Hamilton East. At the end of the film, the light show was launched. The colour kinetics interactive lighting feature spans the entire structure and took seven days of rigging and many months of planning to install. The bridge is transformed into specific colours at certain times in order to welcome visiting sports teams and to celebrate national or local occasions. Bronze figures depicting local historical figures have been fixed to the railings since 2010 to celebrate Hamilton's early years and connection to the river. These have faced some controversy as they appear to favour colonial histories to the detriment of the rich indigenous cultural connection to the area, and are a subject of some protest. From time to time "balancing" figures appear, highlighting these apparently missing elements.

References

* {{coord, 37, 47, 28.6, S, 175, 17, 23.4, E, region:NZ, display=title Arch bridges Steel bridges in New Zealand Bridges over the Waikato River Buildings and structures in Hamilton, New Zealand 1910s architecture in New Zealand Bridges in Waikato Bridges completed in 1910