Hamilton's bridges, ranked
Melissa Smith is coming in hot with her take on the best and worst bridges in our fair city
Our bridges are the new hot topic that everyone is talking about. Discussions like “Omg, did you hear Matt from accounts thinks that Anzac Bridge is the best bridge, how cringe” is a common thing you’ll overhear walking through Garden Place at lunchtime. Ready to put us out of our misery, Melissa Smith gives us her thoughts.
“Kirikiriroa: City of Bridges”. I’m going to make it happen.
Kirikiriroa boasts the highest number of bridges per capita and per square kilometre in Aotearoa, even larger than our closest neighbour Tāmaki Makaurau! Kirikiriroa Hamilton has seven major bridges with a population of 165,000 and an area of 100 km2, which gives us a bridge-per-capita value of 0.4. Meanwhile, Tāmaki Makaurau has eight major bridges with a population of 1,657,000 and an area of 1086 km2, which gives a bridge-per-capita value of 0.0041.
But one question remains: how good are those bridges, really?
We are going to consider the seven major bridge crossings across the Waikato awa in the metropolitan Kirikiriroa area: the Flagstaff walking bridge, Pukete Bridge, Fairfield Bridge, Whitiora Bridge, Claudelands Bridge, Victoria Bridge, and Cobham Drive Bridge. They will be judged on both their aesthetic qualities and their functionality and design. Without any further ado, let’s see Hamilton’s bridges, ranked!
7th (and Last) Place: Whitiora (Boundary Road) Bridge
Unfortunately, this bridge has no redeeming characteristics. It is an ugly, grey rectangle crossing the awa, and although it is fairly utilitarian to drive across, the footpath is nigh impossible to find and the cycling facilities are non-existent. For a bridge serving as a gateway into the City Centre, we deserve a lot better.
6th Place: Cobham Drive Bridge
This bridge is very similar to Whitiora Bridge, with wide traffic lanes and an extremely narrow footpath but is somewhat redeemed by those footpaths being easier to find and linked to the Te Awa River Trail. In addition, the road leading to the bridge from the west is quite beautiful with with a lot of greenery and trees thanks to Yendell Park.
5th Place: Victoria Bridge
Now, we are arriving to generally inoffensive bridges. This is the first bridge on our list that features separate infrastructure for pedestrians, cyclists, and drivers. The cycle lane even has cycle wands, though they could always be wider! The bridge has also a nice shape to it, particularly from the bottom, with a lovely and symmetrical arch. Those arches are also occasionally lit up in different colours depending on the occasion which gives this end of the city centre some culture.
Victoria Bridge has also had a storied history with multiple names, being known as Hamilton Traffic Bridge, Anzac Bridge, and my personal favourite, Bridge Street Bridge.
4th Place: Pukete Bridge
Pukete Bridge does one thing better than Victoria Bridge: its cycle track and pedestrian path is fully separated from motor traffic. It also forms a part of the Wairere Drive shared cycle track, which is the best cycle track in the city2.
I’ve heard some people say that the blue and yellow colour scheme on the cycle track is an eye sore, but I am personally a fan of the colour. It is something unique that makes the bridge stand out from the others. The main thing that would make this bride better is a larger shared path, as it is occasionally difficult for cyclists and pedestrians to pass each other, especially with the large street lamps that encroach into the path.
3rd Place: Flagstaff Walking Bridge
Finally, we are getting to the great bridges in our top three. As the sole walking/cycling bridge in Kirikiriroa, the Flagstaff walking bridge holds a special place on this urbanist blog.
Although the bridge is a drab grey and deserves a little more colour, as the sole walking/cycling bridge, the lack of noise and exhaust pollution creates a peaceful atmosphere. I have seen many groups stopping on the bridge to enjoy and take photos of the awa – it is a tourist attraction in its own right, in addition to serving as a connection between northern Hamilton suburbs and branches of the river track. Unlike the river track, it is also wide enough to service all the different directions and speeds of traffic that it hosts.
I’ve been told that locals call this the “Poo Bridge”, a play on words of the neighbouring suburb of Pukete and the sewage pipes that run under the bridge, but I have never actually heard anybody call it that.
2nd Place: Claudelands Bridge
Claudelands Bridge has earned its place on this list with the recent infrastructure upgrades that have brought it into the future.
Claudelands Bridge has a very simple design, but unlike the rectangles lower down in this ranking, that simplicity hides a well-functioning bridge. There are fully separated footpaths that provide a gorgeous view of the awa, and the recently installed cycling infrastructure along the bridge and adjacent intersections make it a comfortable ride on two wheels, too. Hopefully, future infrastructure upgrades will install median separators between the traffic lanes and widen the footpaths.
Claudelands Bridge also has the additional cool factor: an adjoining train line! If you’re very lucky, sometimes you can see the train crossing the awa and into Centre Place. Another option for the future of Claudelands Bridge is closing it to motor traffic and converting it into a walking/cycling bridge. Read about this option in more detail here!
1st Place: Fairfield Bridge
Finally, but not at all least, we come to the unequivocal best bridge in the city: Fairfield Bridge.
Fairfield Bridge is quite possibly the most iconic bridge in the city – the arches give it a distinctive shape that is the perfect welcome into the city centre and is recognisable from the road, the river path, and the awa. It connects to the Te Awa River Trail on both sides and new upgrades make it welcoming to people on bikes. Although other bridges are more accessible for a range of transport modes, Fairfield Bridge tips the balance with a beautiful visage from any angle, which is why it deserves the top spot in this list.
Melissa Smith might sound like Ted Lasso but has called Hamilton home for fifteen years. She’s a self-confessed math-nerd and Chairperson of Bike Waikato.
Do you have a hot take about bridges? Do you want to offer your own ranking? Send us an email if you’d like to be a contributor: kirikiriroametro@substack.com
Thanks to Hamilton City Libraries Heritage Collection for the use of these bridge images.
The maths may be a bit of a stretch, but I do not care.
No, I do not take criticism – but do let us know if you want a ranking of the shared paths in the city!
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