Fairfield bridge wins award

It has taken 75 years for Hamilton's Fairfield Bridge to cement its place in history.

Long identified as one of the city's most recognisable structures, the bridge has finally concreted its spot as a city icon.

The tier-arched bridge, one of six Hamilton road bridges spanning the Waikato River, has earned the NZ Concrete Society's Enduring Concrete Award.

The bridge, with its three 8m-high arches, was designed by Stanley Jones and completed in 1937 by Roose Shipping. The three-year £24,000 construction was financed by taxpayers and the Hamilton Borough and Waikato councils.

It required 3000 cu m of concrete and 270 tonnes of reinforcing steel.

Deputy mayor Gordon Chesterman says Fairfield Bridge is Hamilton's most easily identified bridge, and it carries a New Zealand Historic Places Trust Category 1 listing.

"The NZ Concrete Society's award further enhances its reputation as a Hamilton icon and shows what a fine original design it was and is," he says.

Organisations can't apply for NZ Concrete Society Awards as structures are nominated and judged by industry representatives, he says.

Fairfield Bridge underwent a $623,000 upgrade in 1991 and average daily traffic across the bridge is 19,100 vehicles.