KiwiRail opens bridge ahead of schedule in Auckland

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A brand new Morrin Road rail overbridge was opened to vehicles and pedestrians recently, 12 days ahead of schedule.

The bridge provides a vital link from Jellicoe Road to Morrin Road businesses, and gives easy access to the Auckland motorways. It was closed to traffic just after Christmas so that KiwiRail could raise the bridge to allow clearance for overhead wires underneath to power Auckland’s future electric trains.

KiwiRail and its contractor, Downer, worked hard to complete the bridgeworks well before the scheduled re-opening date of 12 February, says Nick French, KiwiRail’s project director.

“Despite bad weather during the Christmas network shutdown, our project team made the most of the available time to keep the works on schedule, and also benefited from timely assistance from Auckland Transport and Auckland Council.”

The bridge is one of four road bridges and five pedestrian bridges being rebuilt this summer as part of the Auckland electrification project’s clearance works.

The rail over-bridges at Mt Wellington Highway and Orakei Road are being demolished and rebuilt in two stages while maintaining two-way traffic.

Mt Wellington Highway overbridge works will be complete in early April and Orakei works are on track to be finished by July. Traffic on Orakei Road will be moved across onto the new section of the bridge in mid-March and the remainder of the existing bridge will be demolished over the Easter weekend.

Auckland Transport is rebuilding the Mountain Rd bridge as part of its AMETI project.

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