Fairfield Bridge

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title: "Fairfield Bridge" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["concrete-bridges-in-new-zealand", "tied-arch-bridges", "heritage-new-zealand-category-1-historic-places-in-waikato", "bridges-completed-in-1937", "bridges-over-the-waikato-river", "bridges-in-hamilton,-new-zealand", "1930s-architecture-in-new-zealand"] description: "New Zealand bridge" topic_path: "arts" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fairfield_Bridge" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary New Zealand bridge ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox bridge"]

Field	Value
bridge_name	Fairfield Bridge
image	Fairfield Bridge.jpg
image_size	200px
caption	Fairfield Bridge from north west
carries	Motor vehicles, pedestrians
crosses	Waikato River
locale	Fairfield, Hamilton
designer	Stanley Jones
design	Tied-arch
material	Concrete
pierswater	2
length	139 metres (457 ft)
spans	3
traffic	2002 19,052
2005 18,550
2010 19,100
2015 18,900
2020 17,700
2021 16,900
2022 17,300
builder	Roose Shipping
begin
open
preceded	Whitiora Bridge
followed	Pukete Bridge
coordinates
extra
::

| bridge_name = Fairfield Bridge | native_name = | native_name_lang = | image = Fairfield Bridge.jpg | image_size = 200px | alt = | caption = Fairfield Bridge from north west | official_name = | other_name = | carries = Motor vehicles, pedestrians | crosses = Waikato River | locale = Fairfield, Hamilton | maint = | id = | designer = Stanley Jones | design = Tied-arch | material = Concrete | pierswater = 2 | length = 139 metres (457 ft) | width = | height = | mainspan = | spans = 3 | load = | below = | traffic = 2002 19,052 2005 18,550 2010 19,100 2015 18,900 2020 17,700 2021 16,900 2022 17,300 | builder = Roose Shipping | begin = | complete = | open = | life = | preceded = Whitiora Bridge | followed = Pukete Bridge | heritage = | collapsed = | closed = | map_cue = | map_image = | map_alt = | map_text = | map_width = | coordinates = | extra = Fairfield Bridge is a tied-arch bridge on the Waikato River in Fairfield, Hamilton, New Zealand. It is one of six bridges in the city. It spans from River Road, on the east bank of the river, to Victoria Street, on the west side.

It was registered as a Category I 'Historic Place' with the New Zealand Historic Places Trust on 30 August 1990. The Great Race starts just north of the bridge, with the rowers passing under it during the race.

There were days when drovers would drive stock over the main Fairfield Bridge to Frankton saleyards.[[File:Fairfield Bridge at night.jpg|thumb|upright|left|Fairfield Bridge at night]]

Design and construction

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/15/Art_deco_Fairfield_Bridge.jpg" caption="Art deco]] southern footway"] ::

The bridge is 139 metres (457 ft) long, and has two land spans, and three arches which are 70 cm wide, 40 m long and 7.9 m above the road at their highest point. The road is 20 ft wide, and the footpaths 5 ft. The arches and spans are made from reinforced concrete. ::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/60/Fairfield_Bridge_plaque.jpg" caption="Plaque on south-west abutment"] ::

It was designed by Stanley Jones of Auckland, and Roose Shipping started construction in August 1934. The bridge was opened in April 1937 by the Minister of Public Works Bob Semple. It was the fourth largest reinforced concrete tied-arch bridge in New Zealand, and the second over the Waikato River.

When the building of a bridge in the Fairfield suburb was proposed, many people felt that it would seldom be used. At that time it was just north of the city boundary, in Waikato County. Sixty-five years later, in 2002, there were about 20,000 vehicles travelling across the bridge each day.

During the building of foundations for the bridges, an excavator came across a burial cave in the bank of the river. The preserved heads of several Māori were found in it. In 1991 a reconstruction project costing NZ$1.1 million took place, as the bridge was suffering the effects of concrete cancer, discovered in 1980.

During January 2011, the bridge was closed for three weeks for maintenance.

Motorcycle stunt

In 2009 Jonathan Bennett of the Mormon Few Stunt Crew was charged, and in 2010 was convicted, for dangerous driving for riding a motorcycle on the arches of Fairfield Bridge. The stunt was filmed and subsequently posted on YouTube.{{cite web |url=http://tvnz.co.nz/close-up/stunt-landed-prankster-in-court-3444714 |title=The stunt that landed a prankster in court |work=Close Up |publisher=Television New Zealand |date=1 April 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100404025953/http://tvnz.co.nz/close-up/stunt-landed-prankster-in-court-3444714 |archive-date=4 April 2010 |access-date=8 June 2010 |url-status=dead

References

References

1. "Hamilton City Traffic Counts".
2. "Hamilton's bridges". Hamilton City Council.
3. "Fairfield Bridge, Waikato". [[Google Maps]].
4. "Fairfield Bridge". [[Heritage New Zealand]].
5. Anderson, Ian. (28 September 2009). "Waikato hold out Oxford". [[Stuff (website).
6. Neville Grinter. (December 1976). "Hamilton and the Waikato". A. H. & A. W. Reed.
7. Neems, Jeff. (5 September 2009). "Daredevil stunt rider takes the high road". [[Stuff (website).
8. "Parliamentary Papers {{!}} Appendix to the Journals of the House of Representatives {{!}} 1937 Session I PUBLIC WORKS STATEMENT (BY THE HON. R. SEMPLE, MINISTER OF PUBLIC WORKS".
9. "Fairfield Bridge". [[Hamilton Library (New Zealand).
10. Henshall, F. P.. (10 April 1948). "The Fairfield Bridge, Hamilton". New Zealand Engineering.
11. (13 November 2002). "Water levels may affect Hamilton bridge". [[The New Zealand Herald]].
12. "Wintec – A History of the Land on Which Our City Campus Sits". [[Waikato Institute of Technology]].
13. Swarbrick, Nancy. (26 May 2010). "Waikato places – Hamilton east of the river".
14. "Road works and the impact on traffic". Hamilton City Council.
15. Leaman, Aaron. (3 April 2010). "Bike stunt a bridge too far". [[Stuff (website).
16. (29 September 2009). "Stunt rider charged over driving". [[The New Zealand Herald]].
17. Brennan, Nicola. (13 February 2010). "Judge shocked at biker's bridge stunt". [[Stuff (website).
18. (2018-02-28). "Skateboarder's risky Fairfield Bridge stunt fails".

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