KEY POINTS:
It's the $2 million taxpayer-funded bridge to nowhere.
The much-admired engineering marvel with the bright red legs - already affectionately dubbed the "Pukeko Bridge" - stands astride the newly opened $365 million toll road north of Auckland.
But no traffic crosses the bridge and locked gates prevent anyone but the keyholder gaining access.
So, what's the point of it?
"It's the law of the land," says Wayne McDonald, regional director for the New Zealand Transport Agency. "Neighbours have rights too."
McDonald said the bridge was built on an existing "paper road", Hillcrest Rd, which extends from north of Orewa inland to an isolated farm.
With the new highway extension slicing directly through the paper road, effectively cutting the farm in two, the agency had no choice but to provide an access route.
But isn't $2 million a bit steep for a bridge to nowhere in particular?
"It was the most cost-effective way of doing it," says McDonald.
"The only other option was to buy the total farm, and the owner wasn't a willing seller. There is no access from the western block of land to any other road. By law you can never land-lock a piece of land. This [decision] goes back a decade, it was all part of the Resource Management Act process."
McDonald says a tunnel under the road would have been far more expensive and it was illegal to build an access road directly off a motorway.
And he says it is not an unusual situation.
"We face this on all major works, particularly rural ones."
McDonald said the bridge was public property and the landowner could not prevent people from crossing it. The gates had been installed to prevent boy-racers and other intruders from causing problems on the bridge.
Asked if the bridge could one day be a valuable asset if the owner decided to develop the property, McDonald replied: "He must have had a reason for buying the land."
Rodney District Council said the land was owned by Danepark Developments.
Director Rod Haines, who also owns Kumeu-based Haines House Haulage, could not be reached for comment.
