Uploaded on Flickr by Chris Gin

The Auckland Harbour Bridge turns 50 years old on Saturday May 30th.  The bridge joins St Marys Bay in Auckland with Northcote in North Shore City, New Zealand. The bridge is part of State Highway 1 and the Auckland Northern Motorway. It is the second-longest road bridge in New Zealand, and the longest in the North Island.

According to the New Zealand Herald:

The excavation required – both underwater for the piers and on land for the approaches – meant that 13,000cu m of earth, mud and spoil had to be shifted. Around 180 skilled workmen were brought out from England in 1955 to supplement the local workforce, still recovering from World War II losses. The bridge’s workforce eventually reached 1000 men, on a job that took four years to complete. More than 17,000cu m of concrete was poured, and 12,540cu m of road surfacing material found. More than 7000 tonnes of steel were needed for the box girders and superstructure.

Here is a video of the original construction of the bridge

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