Inside the Wēiti River Bridge build | Penlink O Mahurangi update

Added: 2026-05-03

[00:00:01]The Wēiti River Bridge on Auckland’s Penlink O  Mahurangi project is one of six bridges along this brand new highway. Spanning 535 metres across  the river, and with a deck high above the water, it’s by far the largest. This extradosed bridge  is truly a mega structure in New Zealand terms.

[00:00:21]The height of the piers are equivalent to  a 20 story building. When you stand next to the structure you truly get an appreciation of the  scale. We’ve also built all four piers now up to road deck level. And this year we really  start construction of the bridge deck itself and linking Whangaparāoa and Stillwater. The bridge deck is being built horizontally – out from the top of the piers – using purpose built  equipment called a Form Traveller. It’s a type of steel cage, which allows concrete to be  poured and set in equally balanced sections, before moving out to lay the next part.  The white steel structure behind us is a temporary prop that gives the structure added  stability during the construction phase. There will be a form traveller on each side of the  column. One will travel towards Whangaparāoa, and the other back towards State Highway 1. Once  that concrete goes off, we have the ability to drive the Form Traveller across the new piece of  concrete into the next position where we can do the same again. It’s all done using 15 hydraulic  jacks, controlled by a central computer on site, which was designed by the Penlink O Mahurangi  team. On a computer screen, we have the ability to isolate groups of jacks, isolate one  jack. We get feedback on pressure and stroke, how far the jack has gone. And we can control  the movements of the Form Traveller from that screen and from a remote. That’s really useful  in terms of being able to be at the face of what’s happening and being able to control it.

[00:01:53]It’s technology that helping  build this unique bridge that will be a feature of this brand new highway. Its long-span design  uses fewer piers to ensure not only a connection across the river for cars and walkers alike,  but a clear passage underneath it as well.

[00:02:09]The extradosed span allows you to span to the  outer extents of the river and avoid piers in the middle or navigable channel. That span enables  full river access for river users. The bridge deck being 40 metres high allows yachts and vessels to  be able to transit underneath the bridge safely.

[00:02:29]A true piece of Kiwi ingenuity set to provide a  vital connection in north Auckland with minimal impact to its surroundings. It’s an absolute  privilege to be working on a structure like this. I’m sure anyone driving over this in the  future will really be able to appreciate the views out down the Wēiti River towards Rangitoto Island.

[00:02:48]It’s an iconic bridge in New Zealand and will be  an iconic structure for generations to come.