Due to public safety concerns, risk of damage to infrastructure and the strategic role the Auckland Harbour Bridge plays in our network, there is a very high threshold for acceptance of requests to access the bridge for special events.
Before making a request, please ensure that you can meet all of the Conditions for Use of Auckland Harbour Bridge for Special Events, which are as follows:
|
Category |
Conditions |
|
Type of event |
The event must be:
|
|
|
The date and time of the event must be acceptable to NZTA, to ensure levels of service can be maintained, minimising disruption to the network. |
|
Area of event |
Only the length of motorway between the Curran Street on-ramp (immediately on the city side of the bridge) and the Onewa Road off-ramp (the first on/off interchange on the north shore) can be used for the event. The event must only result in a partial lane closure. Sufficient lanes of motorway must remain open to facilitate the free flow of traffic likely to use the motorway during the event. |
|
Event numbers |
The event is limited to registered participants and officials. |
|
Officials/staff |
The organiser must provide adequate staff to control the event while it is on the bridge and adjacent to the motorway. |
|
Third party approvals/involvement |
The event must have the support of Auckland Council, which must be secured by the organiser. The District Road Policing Team within the NZ Police must be consulted in relation to the approval of the event and the proposed traffic control. There must be a contingency plan in place acceptable to the NZ Police. |
|
Supporting information for application |
The application for use of the bridge for the event must be accompanied by:
|
|
Costs/bond |
The organiser must pay all costs associated with the planning, design checks, advertising, signage, traffic control and lane closures. The organiser must pay a cash bond equivalent to 50% of the estimated cost for use of the bridge four (4) weeks before the event. |
|
Indemnity |
The organiser must indemnify NZTA against any claim whatsoever arising from the event. Evidence of a satisfactory indemnity from an established financial institution must be available for review by NZTA at least two (2) weeks before the event. |
|
Prior event(s) |
If the promoter has staged an event previously, there must be a history of compliance with NZTA's conditions for use of the bridge, including satisfactory clearance of any outstanding debts and no records of accidents or incidents of concern to NZTA. |
|
Conditions of closure |
If a request is approved, NZTA will set the full conditions of the closure of the bridge. All of these conditions must be observed by the organiser and participants. |
For more information, please reference Part 5, Section 4.0 (page 10) of the State Highway Control Manual (SMO12), which can be found here:
State Highway Control Manual (SMO12) [PDF, 506 KB]
If you can meet all of the Conditions for Use of the Auckland Harbour Bridge for Special Events, then the next step is to make an Early Access Request (EAR) at least six (6) weeks prior to the proposed date of the event. The EAR must be submitted electronically via myWorksites, following which NZTA will consider the EAR. The EAR form can be found on the Helpful Resources and Tools web page.
If NZTA advises that the EAR is accepted for further negotiation/consideration, then the next step is to submit a risk-based Traffic Management Plan (TMP) via my Worksites. NZTA will consider the TMP. TMP guidance, practice notes and example forms can be found within the NZTA TTM library section of our website.
NZTA considers a range of factors when approving requests to access the Auckland Harbour Bridge given it is one of the busiest sections of New Zealand’s state highway network. NZTA reserves the right to decline a request either at the EAR stage or the TMP stage. NZTA may also notify the NZ Police of any risk that the organiser's plans may pose.
