Lower Hatea River Crossing

The brief for the $32m NZ project was apparently simple: to provide a relief highway around the northern New Zealand city of Whangerai while expressing the art and culture of the local people. Except the central government funding excluded any provision for aesthetics and architecture.

The project involved a 265m-long crossing of the tidal Lower Hatea River, a popular destination for yachts. The brief required an unlimited headroom for river users and a 25m-wide opening section to allow vessels taller than 7.5m to transit the bridge.

The bridge is a rhythmic series of 25m-long spans with a central opening part. The mechanism is based on a traditional rolling bascule bridge typology, employing hydraulic actuators to raise the bridge. The structural steel deck supports are a graphic interpretation of the fish hook motif that is widely used in Maori culture. They also provide counterweight to reduce the energy consumed raising the 390-tonne lifting span.

The bridge was named Te Matau ā Pohe (The Fish Hook of Pohe, after a famous tribal chief) by the elders of the local Maori tribes, the ultimate proof of successful community engagement.