Mangere Bridge information day this Saturday

Caryn Wilkinson Reporter from Community News

People will be able to walk over the Manukau Harbour this weekend where the new Mangere Bridge is being built.

They are invited to an information day this Saturday for the old Mangere Bridge replacement project.

People can meet the team behind the bridge build and learn more about the new walking, cycling and fishing bridge spanning the harbour.

The information day will be held from 9.30am to 1pm at the Waterfront Reserve in Mangere Bridge.

Visitors will be able to walk on the temporary staging, which is like a temporary road in the harbour, said Waka Kotahi senior manager project delivery Andrew Thackwray.

The staging allows cranes to move out over the water alongside where the new bridge is under construction.

Earmarked for completion in 2022, the new bridge will restore the walking, cycling and fishing connection to the Mangere Bridge and Onehunga communities.

The new bridge will boost space between the piers for waka, canoes and small watercraft to sail through Mangere Inlet.

Thackwray said the event will be a great chance for people to see close up what the team is doing.

"They are very proud of the progress they are making and will be on site to explain what they're doing and answer any questions," he said.

A sausage sizzle and activities to entertain children are also planned.

A limited number of people will be able to check out the big cofferdams created in the harbour to build the bridge piers.

A cofferdam is a watertight box made from joined steel plates driven up to 20 metres below the seabed and rising above the water level at high tide.

Workers had to pump 1.4 million litres of water to create a dry working space in one of the biggest cofferdams which stretches 25 metres by 12.5 metres.

A crane lowered a digger into the cofferdam to dig through 2.5 metres of mud to reach the seabed.

Workers then had to remove 1100 cubic metres of mud - enough to fill 187 trucks.

They poured a concrete floor which will be the foundation of construction of the first pier.

“The cofferdams and the temporary staging will only be in place for as long as they’re needed to construct the bridge, so this is a one-off chance for some people to come and see them up close and understand what they’re for," Thackwray said.

Tickets to the site tour will be limited and subject to health and safety requirements.

This part of the information day may be cancelled if bad weather hits.