Motorway, bridge designs part of urban park landscape

A pedestrian overbridge on the new motorway through Hobsonville. Photo / NZPA

Motorways and bridges are taking on a futuristic look as designers move away from traditional New Zealand designs.

A pedestrian overbridge on a new motorway through the Hobsonville area on Auckland's North Shore has a towering 24-metre high centrepiece. Its central pier holds cables which support the two-metre wide footbridge, all painted bright yellow.

The bridge forms a gateway structure for motorists entering Waitakere City from the North Shore, said the New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA).

Auckland and Northland regional director Wayne McDonald said when new roads were built they tried to have a strong urban design. New roads were now being thought of as part of the "urban park landscape".

The big yellow footbridge was also a statement to draw attention to it, so people would use it.

That was also reflected in the way NZTA was planting areas beside motorways in native trees and bush.

Mr McDonald said the last motorway of the "old era designs" was the route out of Tauranga, heading north toward Katikati in the Bay of Plenty.

"That was just straight forward, bland, engineering treatment with vertical retaining walls and no pre-cast concrete work to give the features we put in like pohutukawa trees. Now we are in the modern era.

"We pay a lot more attention in the design phase to getting these features into our major projects."

Several new motorway features have never before been seen in New Zealand.

On the main motorway through Auckland, retaining walls have concrete slabs featuring the familiar outline of Rangitoto Island and pohutukawa trees, and on other motorways very high screen walls featuring native bush designs block the motorway off from housing areas.

- NZPA