An historic Auckland hotel has been shifted half the distance required to settle it in a new, temporary location.
The Bird Cage Tavern in Freeman's Bay was built in 1886 as the Rob Roy Hotel. The Transport Agency is moving it about 40 metres so that the adjacent motorway can be widened and a new tunnel to the Harbour Bridge built.
By late Wednesday morning the building had been shifted 26 and a half metres.
The Transport Agency says it's hoped the moving will be finished by the end of the day, but it could go into Thursday.
Workers only managed to shift the 740-tonne two-storey building 19 metres on Tuesday. The agency had originally hoped the move could be done in a single day but says it is comfortable with progress.
The company managing the shift says the building is still delicate, despite added reinforcing.
The hotel will be moved back to its original site when the tunnel project is completed.
