Three construction workers take a smoke break while building the Auckland Harbour Bridge in 1959. Construction of the Auckland Harbour Bridge was one of New Zealand’s largest engineering projects of the 20th century. Built between 1956 and 1959, the steel bridge spans just over 1,020 meters (3,346 feet) across Waitematā Harbour, connecting central Auckland with the rapidly growing North Shore. It opened on May 30, 1959, after more than three years of construction at a cost of approximately £7.5 million, worth hundreds of millions of dollars today. More than 1,000 workers helped build the bridge, assembling over 12,000 tons of structural steel while working at dizzying heights above the harbor. Safety standards were far less stringent than they are today, and despite the bridge being an engineering achievement, its original four lanes quickly proved inadequate as Auckland’s population and car ownership grew. In 1969, just a decade after opening, clip-on sections were added to double the bridge’s capacity from four lanes to eight. Today, it can carry more than 170,000 vehicles on busy days. During construction, workers nicknamed the bridge “The Coat Hanger” because of its distinctive arch. More than 65 years later, the nickname remains widely used by Aucklanders.(Historic Vids)