Fairfield Bridge Explained

Bridge Name:Fairfield Bridge
Carries:Motor vehicles, pedestrians
Crosses:Waikato River
Locale:Fairfield, Hamilton
Designer:Stanley Jones
Design:Tied-arch
Material:Concrete
Pierswater:2
Length:139 metres (457 ft)
Spans:3
Traffic:2002 19,052
2005 18,550
2010 19,100
2015 18,900
2020 17,700
2021 16,900
2022 17,300[1]
Builder:Roose Shipping
Preceded:Whitiora Bridge
Followed:Pukete Bridge
Coordinates:-37.772°N 175.27°W

Fairfield Bridge is a tied-arch bridge on the Waikato River in Fairfield, Hamilton, New Zealand. It is one of six bridges in the city.[2] It spans from River Road, on the east bank of the river, to Victoria Street, on the west side.[3]

It was registered as a Category I 'Historic Place' with the New Zealand Historic Places Trust on 30 August 1990.[4] The Great Race starts just north of the bridge, with the rowers passing under it during the race.[5]

There were days when drovers would drive stock over the main Fairfield Bridge to Frankton saleyards.[6]

Design and construction

The bridge is 139 metres (457 ft) long, and has two land spans, and three arches which are 70cm (30inches) wide, 40m (130feet) long and 7.9m (25.9feet) above the road at their highest point.[7] The road is 20feet wide, and the footpaths 5feet.[8] The arches and spans are made from reinforced concrete.It was designed by Stanley Jones of Auckland, and Roose Shipping started construction in August 1934.[9] The bridge was opened in April 1937 by the Minister of Public Works Bob Semple. It was the fourth largest reinforced concrete tied-arch bridge in New Zealand, and the second over the Waikato River.[10]

When the building of a bridge in the Fairfield suburb was proposed, many people felt that it would seldom be used. At that time it was just north of the city boundary, in Waikato County. Sixty-five years later, in 2002, there were about 20,000 vehicles travelling across the bridge each day.[11]

During the building of foundations for the bridges, an excavator came across a burial cave in the bank of the river. The preserved heads of several Māori were found in it.[12] In 1991 a reconstruction project costing NZ$1.1 million took place, as the bridge was suffering the effects of concrete cancer, discovered in 1980.[13]

During January 2011, the bridge was closed for three weeks for maintenance.[14]

Motorcycle stunt

In 2009 Jonathan Bennett of the Mormon Few Stunt Crew was charged, and in 2010 was convicted,[15] for dangerous driving for riding a motorcycle on the arches of Fairfield Bridge.[16] [17] The stunt was filmed and subsequently posted on YouTube.[18] He was fined $500 and disqualified from riding for 6 months.[19]

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Hamilton City Traffic Counts . 2023-12-15 . data-waikatolass.opendata.arcgis.com . en.
  2. Web site: Hamilton's bridges. Hamilton City Council. 1 December 2015.
  3. Web site: Fairfield Bridge, Waikato. Google Maps. 11 June 2010.
  4. Web site: Fairfield Bridge. Heritage New Zealand. 7 June 2010.
  5. Web site: Waikato hold out Oxford . Ian . Anderson . . . 28 September 2009 . https://web.archive.org/web/20100605011109/http://www.stuff.co.nz/waikato-times/sport/2908755/Waikato-hold-out-Oxford . 5 June 2010 . 8 June 2010 . dead .
  6. Book: Hamilton and the Waikato. Neville Grinter. A. H. & A. W. Reed. December 1976. 9780589009717.
  7. Web site: Daredevil stunt rider takes the high road . Jeff . Neems . . . 5 September 2009 . https://web.archive.org/web/20090907032103/http://www.stuff.co.nz/waikato-times/news/2836914/Daredevil-stunt-rider-takes-the-high-road . 7 September 2009 . 8 June 2010 . dead .
  8. News: Parliamentary Papers Appendix to the Journals of the House of Representatives 1937 Session I PUBLIC WORKS STATEMENT (BY THE HON. R. SEMPLE, MINISTER OF PUBLIC WORKS. paperspast.natlib.govt.nz National Library of New Zealand. en. 2017-06-16.
  9. Web site: Fairfield Bridge . . https://web.archive.org/web/20100520201640/http://www.hamiltonlibraries.co.nz/page/pageid/2145840359 . 20 May 2010 . 7 June 2010 . dead .
  10. Henshall . F. P. . 10 April 1948 . The Fairfield Bridge, Hamilton . New Zealand Engineering . 3 . 4 . 387–389 . 0028-808X.
  11. Web site: Water levels may affect Hamilton bridge. The New Zealand Herald. 13 November 2002. 8 June 2010.
  12. Web site: Wintec  - A History of the Land on Which Our City Campus Sits . . https://web.archive.org/web/20110723124940/http://www.wintec.ac.nz/about/community/files/History-Of-Wintec-Land.pdf . 23 July 2011 . 9 June 2010 . dead .
  13. Encyclopedia: Waikato places  - Hamilton east of the river. Nancy. Swarbrick. . 26 May 2010. 10 June 2010.
  14. Web site: Road works and the impact on traffic . Hamilton City Council . 19 January 2011 . https://web.archive.org/web/20101124005546/http://hamilton.co.nz/page/pageid/2145827864 . 24 November 2010 . dead .
  15. Web site: Bike stunt a bridge too far . Aaron . Leaman . . . 3 April 2010 . https://web.archive.org/web/20100406040417/http://www.stuff.co.nz/waikato-times/news/3544671/Bike-stunt-a-bridge-too-far . 6 April 2010 . 8 June 2010 . dead .
  16. Web site: Stunt rider charged over driving. The New Zealand Herald. 29 September 2009. 8 June 2010.
  17. Web site: Judge shocked at biker's bridge stunt . Nicola . Brennan . . . 13 February 2010 . https://web.archive.org/web/20100216170724/http://www.stuff.co.nz/waikato-times/news/3323376/Judge-shocked-at-bikers-bridge-stunt . 16 February 2010 . 8 June 2010 . dead .
  18. Web site: The stunt that landed a prankster in court . . . 1 April 2010 . https://web.archive.org/web/20100404025953/http://tvnz.co.nz/close-up/stunt-landed-prankster-in-court-3444714 . 4 April 2010 . 8 June 2010 . dead.
  19. Web site: 2018-02-28. Skateboarder's risky Fairfield Bridge stunt fails. 2021-03-17. Stuff. en.

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