This viaduct has my name on it
I have a soft spot for heavy engineering (which my father used to indulge with visits to dams and bridges). The motorway viaduct over Newmarket is being replaced while still in use, and on Sunday they had an open day. The process is pretty cool: the huge self-launching gantry (fondly known as The Big Blue Thing) is being used to build the new southbound lanes, then the old ones will be deconstructed (as opposed to demolished willy-nilly) and replaced with new northbound lanes, then the old northbound lanes will be taken down. The new structure's meant to withstand a 1-in-2500-years earthquake (probably while the whole city falls down around it).
A street was closed off on Sunday and visitors had the chance to sign their names in one of the segments before it goes up.
Photos, and an unexpected appearance by Ceiling Cat
The new southbound lanes so far. See those segments? That's one of them in the next photo that we signed.
A segment on the log 80-wheel transporter they're brought in on (4 wheels to each of 20 axles).
People signing. Greg and I added our names, and Vila may have too. ;-)
Someone added Ceiling Cat to an oblong marking in the ceiling. Bwahahaha! You can just see him in the previous photo, above the guy's head, just below the two holes.
Market stalls with part of the Big Blue Thing in the background. Greg bought Jamaican jerked chicken and I had a yummy masala dosa, and if I had a job, I'd have bought at least one bright ceramic gecko.
A brass band! They're not viaduct workers (shame) but a Swiss-style oompa-pa band called Guggenmusik.
I think they should run a market there every Sunday now my beloved Aotea one got closed down.