In a new series, the Herald looks at some of the offbeat jobs people do to help others enjoy their holidays
Gordon Sainty reckons he comes within inches of his life most nights.
Trucks hurtling over the Auckland Harbour Bridge, many of them breaking the speed limit, sometimes clip the wing mirror less than an arm's length from his head.
The 51-year-old is one of the drivers of the barrier transfer
machine, which moves more than 2000 slabs of concrete each weighing 670kg to keep the city's traffic flowing.
He has taken the 30 to 40-minute trip on his night shifts for almost three years and has seen some crazy things in that time.
He once helped police catch a man who had climbed the Harbour Bridge to collect the flag at the top.
"I had a call from one of the guys and he was saying 'is that one of your guys up there trying to take the flag down?' I said 'what are you talking about?' and he said 'someone has got up there'.
"They asked him 'what the hell were you doing up there?' and he said it was a dare to get up there on the bridge and get the flag down."
Another time one of the other drivers had to steer the barrier machine offline to to dodge a truck with a moveable building on the back which came dangerously close to wiping him out.
There isn't much room to get the job done. The 1.5km-long chain of barrier blocks is moved by the American-made machine while motorway traffic whizzes towards it less than 1m away.
"The mirror doesn't stick out much on the side of the machine, yet it gets hit," he explains.
"So that gives you a bit of an idea of how close they get."
Accompanying him, I find the ride terrifying but he tells me he no longer gets scared of the close proximity of oncoming vehicles.
"I'd be a nervous wreck if I did that. It's something you get used to."
The machine - there are two - requires two drivers - one at the front, one at the rear. It takes the blocks in at the front and channels them so they emerge at the rear one lane over.
It operates on a GPS system which the driver controls, pulling or pushing the barrier depending how far out of line it is.
The bridge moves north and south as it expands and contracts depending on the temperature, and wind and the vibration of traffic can also throw the segments out so the driver must realign them.
Mr Sainty works for the Auckland Motorway Alliance, a joint initiative between his employer of 10 years Fulton Hogan, the NZ Transport Agency and other stakeholders.
While he admits it can be monotonous, he's seen some stunning sunrises and sunsets and doesn't get sick of the beauty of Auckland city at night.
Mr Sainty also deals with frequent abuse from motorists.
"We are in their way. It's like 'You so-and-so - they don't actually care, so long as they get home unimpeded. It is just crazy and dangerous."
Another part of his job involves dealing with the large motorway traffic warning signs.
"It could say 'Joe Bloggs is jumping off the Harbour Bridge - be careful,' but people don't read it. They come flying around the bend and hit the brakes ... they just take no notice.
"It's just crazy out there. It doesn't matter if it's wet, dry, they still drive at the same speed. All they want to do is just get to where they want to go."
