Almost one year to the day after the devastating New Zealand International Convention Centre (NZICC) fire in central Auckland, Fletcher Construction is marking the first significant visible milestone in its re-building process – the installation of 30m-long air bridge across Hobson Street.
Sitting approximately 11 metres above road level, the new architecturally-designed bridge will link the NZICC’s new 303-bed Horizon Hotel with the SkyCity Hotel on the opposite side.
Two mobile cranes are scheduled to lift the 85-tonne bridge into position on Saturday morning, during a Labour Weekend closure of Hobson Street between Victoria and Wellesley Streets. Fletcher Construction will then make use of the closure to install the second of the site’s tower cranes – another visible sign of construction progress.
NZICC project director Grant Beckett says the bridge lift is a "positive step forward" for the re-build.
"While we’ve been working away behind the scenes to prepare for the convention centre re-build, the bridge installation is the first visible sign that we’re back on track to deliver this important project for New Zealand," he says.
"It’s a positive step forward for the project, for our client SkyCity and for the dedicated team working on it – and brings us a step closer to achieving a 2023 completion date."
"The large bridge structure was pre-fabricated near Palmerston North. Due to its size and weight, the structure could only be transported at night. After a three-day journey, it made a spectacular entrance into Auckland on 17 September, flanked by a flotilla of pilot vehicles.
It was then moved into the NZICC building, where its glass facade, other cladding elements and roofing material were added ahead of the lift. A reinforced concrete floor will be cast once the bridge is installed."
