Footage of the overnight repair job to temporarily fix the damaged strut on the Auckland Harbour Bridge. Video / Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency
Perfect weather conditions in Auckland overnight has helped to fast track work to fix the city's harbour bridge - albeit temporarily.
The lower half of the strut that was damaged when a truck hit it last Friday - after being tipped over by a strong gust - has been replacedwith a section of freshly fabricated steel.
The temporary fix comes after efforts by specialist bridge engineers and fabricators to assess the damage, design the new strut, calculate and plan the repair as well as manufacture the strut itself.
Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency said in a statement: "We had perfect weather conditions on the harbour bridge overnight and so progress was much faster than we had hoped.
"There was very little wind, good temperatures and visibility - which meant the team were able to get the new section installed and carry out the testing all in one night."
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"This will remain until the permanent solution is in place and the bridge can support its full weight capacity again."
Testing carried out using heavy vehicles before bridge reopened
The crew involved in the overnight work carried out real-life tests to ensure the bridge was performing the necessary design specifications and requirements, NZTA said.
Heavy vehicles were brought in for that testing.
However, no overweight vehicles are allowed across the bridge at the moment - and they are being asked to stay away until the permanent fixture is installed.
A strut is temporarily fixed on the harbour bridge overnight. Photo / NZTA
Work is now moving towards a permanent repair in order to reopen the bridge entirely. But NZTA warned that that could still be "weeks away" from installation.
The bulk of that permanent solution involved the calculation and peer review of the new permanent strut in relation to how it will impact on the performance of the whole bridge.
"This includes careful calculations on how to re-balance its load-bearing function.
"The new modelling is necessary because the materials of the new structure will not exactly match those that were installed 60 years ago."