A fire engulfs a car on the Sydney Harbour Bridge on Monday morning.Credit:Nine News
Road zippers are also used on the Auckland Harbour Bridge to shift concrete lane dividers during peak periods. The machines move the barriers back and forth each day to cope with morning and evening traffic peaks.
Despite their use elsewhere,University of Sydney transport expert Geoffrey Clifton said moveable concrete barriers were unlikely to be feasible on the full length of the Harbour Bridge because of space constraints.
Dr Clifton said closing one of the eight lanes to traffic on the bridge to lower the chance of head-on crashes was a possibility,but that would reduce road capacity,and worsen congestion on one of the country’s busiest motorways.
A road zipper shifts moveable barriers.
“The Harbour Bridge is one of the most crucial pieces of infrastructure in Sydney. It is also vulnerable to disruption and without good alternatives that disruption lasts longer and has a bigger impact,” he said.
The multibillion-dollarCity and Southwest Metro rail line under the harbour is due to open in 2024,followed by a second motorway tunnel crossing about four years later.