In 1969, due to the rapid increase in road usage, two lane girder clip-on sections were added to each side, doubling the number of lanes from 4 to 8. The sections were manufactured by a Japanese engineering contractor, which lead to the nickname 'Nippon Clip-ons':
(The reason for the greeny shade to the above picture is that it was taken from the top of the Skytower in the city centre). It carries road traffic - the eight-lane motorway that runs north-south through the city (just as Highway 1 runs over the Golden Gate Bridge in San Fran).
Our visit to California seems a long, long time ago, so let's remind ourselves of what the Golden Gate Bridge looks like:
It is a classic suspension bridge design, and the picture, taken from the Marin County Headlands, just shows how long the main span is. The structure of the Auckland Harbour Bridge is very different from the Golden Gate Bridge. It is a box truss design, built for strength rather than flexiblity.
The bridge crosses the Waitemata Harbour (the Pacific Ocean side) taking Highway 1 through Auckland north into the posh surburbs of Devonport:
I have also marked Howick in this satellite image. This is where Ray and Pat live, and when they first arrived nearly 40 years ago, it was a separate town. Now it is just another surburb and Pat was pleased that a new double-carriage way had recently opened to make the traffic easier.
