Fairfield Bridge

Designed by: Stanley Jones, Jones & Adams of Auckland.

Work commenced: 6 August 1934.

Opened: 26 April 1937 by Hon. R. Semple, Minister of Public Works.

Cost: 26,000 pounds.

Length: 457 feet.

Photograph: Fairfield Bridge. Hamilton City Libraries image 2633.

Photograph: Construction of Fairfield Bridge, c1936. Hamilton City Libraries image 1006

When the Fairfield Bridge project was proposed Hamilton Borough's population was approaching 16,000. The roads were becoming increasingly congested - there was only one bridge at that time. However the proposed bridge was controversial as many claimed it was too far out and would never be used. The construction became a local attraction with Hamiltonians enjoying the walk into the country to see it. By the 1950s the bridge was well inside the city boundaries as Hamilton continued to grow in size and population.

The concrete bridge was constructed by a local company, Roose Shipping Co Ltd and the project overseen by Mr A.A. Woodward, the Waikato County Council engineer. Work commenced in August 1934 and soon after they began drilling they found an underground forest that no one had been aware of. Logs were so hard they had nearly turned to coal causing an unforeseen delay in completion of the bridge. The structure which was 457 feet long consists of three bowstring trusses and two land spans all in reinforced concrete. The aggregates used throughout the job were crushed metal from Smeed's quarries at Tuakau.

The bridge was paid for by the Government, Waikato County Council, Hamilton Borough Council and the Waipa County Council. The bridge is still in use today and in good condition apart from needing repairs in 1991 due to concrete cancer at a cost of $1.1 million.

Photograph: Roose's Wharf, Ferrybank, Hamilton, 1936. Hamilton City Libraries image 982.