Media Release
25 October 2006

Sod turning for remarkable new bridge in Flat Bush

Work has begun on New Zealand’s first cable-stayed traffic bridge, at Flat Bush in Manukau. The sod turning for the new Ormiston Road bridge was held today, with Mayor Sir Barry Curtis turning the first sod. The bridge will become a landmark entrance to the Flat Bush town centre. Flat Bush is currently mostly green fields but is set to become the largest urban development in the country over the next five years.

Many of the best-known bridges around the world are cable-stayed, such as San Francisco’s Golden Gate bridge.

Twenty cables will support the Ormiston Road bridge, with each made up of between 78 and 144 seven mm wires grouped inside a stay pipe.

Located in the middle of Barry Curtis Park and at the entrance to the town centre, the bridge will provide a dramatic entrance to Flat Bush. It has been designed to lift the road above the 100 year flood plain and allow access underneath it through Barry Curtis Park. Ormiston Road is being upgraded to four lanes of traffic with signalised intersections at both the town centre and Chapel Road.

Designed by Beca Infrastructure Ltd and Moller Architects, the new 70 metre long steel box girder bridge will be suspended from concrete pylons 46 metres high. Measuring 27 metres across, it will feature four traffic lanes, two cycle lanes and footpaths on both sides, providing a crossing point over Ormiston Road for pedestrians.

The $12.75 million Ormiston road upgrade and bridge construction project is jointly funded by Manukau City Council and Land Transport New Zealand.

Construction of the bridge is expected to be complete by February 2008, when Ormiston Road will reopen. Manukau Mayor Sir Barry Curtis believes the striking design of the bridge will lead to it becoming a city icon.

Much of the area designated for development at Flat Bush is still green fields but that is soon to change. “There’s a hive of activity around Flat Bush at the moment, with

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construction of the bridge, earthworks for Barry Curtis Park and the recent opening of the wetlands playground.

“The bridge project is a crucial part of the infrastructure the council is putting in. There are extensive roading, pedestrian and cycling improvements underway, and that that will result in significant benefits for all road users in the area.”

About Flat Bush

Covering 1700 hectares, and with 15,000 homes scheduled to be built, Flat Bush is New Zealand's largest planned development. Within seven years Flat Bush will be home to more than 40,000 people.

The development will include a new town centre with retail, office and community facilities, a 94 hectare park catering for a range of sporting and recreation needs, a range of housing options, up to seven new schools including a new secondary school, cycle and pedestrian friendly streets, and access to public transport services. At least one quarter of the area will remain as parks and other green open space.

Manukau City Council is guiding the overall design and development of Flat Bush to ensure that people, places and the environment are given as much emphasis as the economic considerations that drive private development.

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