New signs improve warnings for overheight trucks on Southern Motorway

The NZ Transport Agency has just finished installing and testing six new generation electronic signs to warn drivers who risk of hitting one of the region’s lowest highway overbridges at Ellerslie Penrose.

“Bridge strikes cause delays that can affect many road users, creating disruption and financial losses to drivers and businesses, which is why we’re consistently developing ways we can reduce the chances of these incidents happening,” says Brett Gliddon the Transport Agency’s Auckland Highway Manager.

At 4.57m the Penrose Bridge is one of the lowest bridges on the Auckland motorway network. Without a specific permit the maximum height for vehicles on the motorway is 4.25 metres; this means that anything that hits the Penrose Bridge is illegally overheight. Penrose Bridge has been struck four times so far this year, with thirteen strikes in total across the Auckland motorway network.