Trucks, cars, horses and thousands of people poured across the bridge immediately after the opening. Photo / File
Trucks, cars, horses and thousands of people poured across the bridge immediately after the opening. Photo / File
A two-year build-up of radio reports detailing the intricacies of Tauranga Harbour's bridge build culminated in an official opening 32 years ago today.Making those reports was former The Hits announcer Brian Kelly who recalled the March 13, 1988 opening as a massive deal for the city.
"As the only, orone of very few, radio stations in town at the time we had quite a lot to do with the development of the bridge," Kelly said.
"From day one we did weekly progress updates for about two years following the construction of the bridge. We'd go down and talk to the builders about how things were going."
Aerial view of Tauranga Harbour Bridge in modern times. Photo / File
He said one of the interesting things about the construction was that the bridge was built on the Tauranga side span by span and actually pushed out on Teflon pads each week.
Before being opened, cars travelling between Tauranga and Mount Maunganui had to use the Hairini and Maungatapu bridges.
The first few years the bridge was tolled.
Kelly said he still believed the tolls should have continued, with the money going towards funding other roading projects.
"I also remember saying to the mayor at the time, that two lanes weren't enough. Even back in 1988 the town was growing so fast and it should have been four lanes from the start."
"Sure enough 20 years later a new bridge opened."
Brian Kelly, radio announcer for Coast Tauranga. Photo / File
The 2009 bridge was a duplicate 466m long box-girder bridge parallel to the original bridge.
Tauranga historian Debbie McCauley said she remembered the opening of the 1988 bridge as a "big deal" for the city.
"We're [Tauranga] are fortunate there is a lot of material about the opening of both bridges," McCauley said.
