Carries Motor vehicles Preceded by Cobham Bridge Bridge type Arch bridge Followed by Claudelands Bridge | Crosses Waikato River Body of water Waikato River Carry Motor vehicle | |
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Other name(s) Hamilton Traffic Bridge Similar Pukete Bridge, Fairfield Bridge, Arapuni Suspension Bridge, Karapiro Power Station, Waipapa Power Station | ||
Victoria Bridge (originally known as the Hamilton Traffic Bridge) is a steel arch bridge in Hamilton, New Zealand. The bridge connects the suburbs of Hamilton Central and Hamilton East. The bridge is also informally known as The Bridge Street Bridge.
On 30 August 1990, the bridge was registered as a Category I 'Historic Place' with the New Zealand Historic Places Trust.
In 2010, the bridge celebrated its 100th year with a party in the park and unveiled a permanent interactive LED lighting system designed to illuminate the bridge for 10–15 years. This project was funded via a donation from The Perry Foundation.
The party in the park featured a parade containing people in period costume and classic cars and rides and events for children and the event culminated in the display of a specially commissioned film projected onto a large screen next to the PS Rangiriri, Hamilton's historic paddle steamer in Hamilton East, New Zealand and at the end of the film the light show was launched.
The Color Kinetics interactive lighting feature spans the entire structure and took seven days of rigging and many months of planning to install. The bridge is transformed into specific colours at certain times in order to welcome visiting sports teams and to celebrate national or local occasions.
Bronze figures depicting local historical figures have been fixed to the railings since 2010 to celebrate Hamilton's early years and connection to the river. These have faced some controversy as they appear to favour colonial histories to the detriment of the rich indigenous cultural connection to the area, and are a subject of some protest. From time to time "balancing" figures appear, highlighting these apparently missing elements.