Engineers are working on a short-term solution that'll allow an extra lane of traffic to cross Auckland's Harbour Bridge in each direction, the Prime Minister has revealed.
In a press conference from Auckland on Monday, Jacinda Ardern said the New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) is making "great progress" on a temporary fix to a damaged strut, and hopes to roll it out later this week.
However she warned a permanent solution is still weeks away.
The bridge's middle four lanes have been closed to motorists since Friday, when a double-truck crash in high winds caused structural damage to the bridge.
That's left just four lanes - two in each direction - open to those travelling between the city and the North Shore, causing severe traffic congestion at rush hour on Friday evening and Monday morning.
The temporary fix would allow one extra lane in each direction to be opened on the centre span of the bridge.
The structure's southbound lanes into the city will need to close overnight on Tuesday to make the repair, Ardern said, describing it as "an incredibly complex process".
"This is a complex undertaking and has never been done before, so the bridge team must do extensive testing on the bridge before opening it up to live traffic," she explained.
Testing includes real-life trials with heavy vehicles and mathematical peer review by independent experts, to ensure the structure meets design specifications and requirements.
Once the strut is in place and these processes have concluded later this week, a final decision will be made on whether the temporary fix is suitable to allow the reopening of additional lanes.
Engineers are also working on a permanent fix to the bridge, but Ardern warned this was still weeks away.
She said part of the difficulty in a long-term solution is that the materials used by bridge engineers now are not the same as those used when the bridge was built 61 years ago.
