Other Bridges

This page lists other interesting bridges that I have photographed in NSW and Victoria.

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Allan Bridge is a timber suspension bridge probably built in the 1930s. It features timber towers and an unusual trussed suspension cable. The hangers for the deck are anchored into each joint on the trussed cables. The deck is composed of timber beams that make an amazing noise as you drive over the bridge. Unlike most suspension bridges, the cables do not pass over the towers, but stop and start at each tower. THe bridge is located on Allan Bridge Road, about 5km east of Aberdeen and crosses the Pages River.

View of the bridge from the upstream north side.

View of the bridge from the upstream north side.

View of the bridge from the upstream north side.

View of the bridge from the upstream north side.

View of the bridge from the upstream north side.

View of the bridge from the upstream north side.

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Kindee Bridge is located on Kindee Road, just off the Oxley Highway, about 50km west of Port Macquarie. It is a timber suspension bridge of the same general design as Allan Bridge with the trussed suspension cables. It is substantially bigger however, with much taller towers. The towers are timber and are constructed using four lengths, each consisting of two logs joined end to end. The join is just above the level of the bridge deck. The bridge was built in 1936 and crosses Hastings River.

View of the bridge from the upstream east side.

View of the bridge from the downstream east side.

View of the bridge from the east river bank. The towers are sheathed with timber planks to prevent debris entanglement during floods.

View of the bridge deck.

View of the bridge from the east river bank.

View of the underside.

View of the bridge deck. The joins in the tower logs can be seen in this view.

View of the bridge from the west side.

Information plaque.

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This bridge crosses the Hunter River and is located on Luskintyre Road, about 15km west of Maitland. It was built in 1905 and is a Pratt truss. This is the same basic design as the de Burgh timber truss. When it was built, it was the largest bridge in NSW. The approaches are timber trestles and the deck is the classic rattly timber planking as seen on many of the timber truss bridges. The two spans are 60 metres long.

View of the bridge from the north east side.

Closer view from the north east side.

View from the east end showing the deck planking.

View of the truss and river.

View from the east end.

View from the west end. The road is used as a one lane road, but two cars can easily pass.

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The bridge over the Clarence River at Grafton was constructed in 1932, the same year as the Sydney Harbour Bridge. It is a steel truss bridge with 5 spans plus a bascule lift span. The lift span has not been operated since the 1960s. The lower deck of the bridge carries the main north railway of NSW and the top deck carries Bent Street, so named as the road bends sharply at each end of the bridge. There is considerable demand for a new bridge at this location as the original bridge is only a two lane bridge and the bends in the road make it a menace for trucks.

View of the bridge from the south side.

View of the bascule lift span.

View from the footpath.

View of the lift span from the footpath.

Close view from the south side.

View from the south end showing the road deck bending away from the bridge.

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Kempsey bridge is a four span steel truss bridge over the Macleay River in Kempsey. It was built in 1959 and replaced a timber truss bridge. This type of steel truss was fairly standard across NSW in the 50s and 60s.

View of the bridge from the north side.

View of one span.

View from south side.

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The West Gate Bridge crosses the Yarra River in Melbourne and was completed in 1978 after 10 years of construction. Construction was delayed due to a catastrophic collapse of one of the spans, which killed 35 construction workers. The bridge is 2582 metres long and 58 metres high. The bridge is a steel box girder bridge with cable stayed centre spans. The main span is 336 metres long.

View of the bridge from the north west side.

View of one of the central piers.

Close view from the north west side.

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The bridge is one of the most photographed rail bridges in Australia. It was built in 1899 across Monbulk Creek. It is a part of the Puffing Billy Railway, a narrow gauge (2'6") railway in Melbourne.

View of the bridge from the parking area.

View from the south side.

View from the north side.

View of the bridge over the road.

Everyone including me taking a photo from the train on the bridge.

Puffing Billy train on the bridge.

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This bridge was built in 1902 and is one of the last remaining timber trestle bridges on the Melbourne metro railway. It is one of the few places you can see a modern electric train crossing a timber trestle bridge. The bridge is located near Eltham Station.

View of the bridge from the north east side.

Closer view from the north east side.

View of the bridge.

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This bridge crosses the Murumbidgee River at Gundagai and was opened in 1865. It consisted of a iron lattice truss bridge over the river itself and about 23 timber spans on the northern side rising up from the flood plain. It was the first iron lattice truss bridge to be built in NSW. Some years later, the approach was lengthened to cross the entire flood plain. In 1896, all the timber spans were replaced again. In its final configuration, the bridge was 922 metres long. A side ramp was built in 1896 at the end of the iron lattice bridge down to the flood plain. A bypass was built around Gundagai in 1977 and the timber part of the old bridge was closed at this time, the road being diverted down the ramp to the flood plain. The timber bridge is now in very poor condition, closed to vehicles and pedestrians. It has been supported at many locations and is slowly collapsing.

View of the bridge from the south end.

View of the bridge looking south toward the ramp.

View looking north.

View of a collapsing span. Note the supporting pillars.

View of the bridge where it crosses a local road on the flood plain.

View showing sagging and supporting pillars.

View of the iron lattice bridge.

View of the bridge from the lookout.

View of the bridge from the lookout.

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The rail bridge over the Murumbidgee River at Gundagai was built in 1903 and consists of a steel truss span over the river itself and dozens of timber deck truss spans across the flood plain. The trusses are similar in design to the Old PWD trusses used on road bridges. The bridge is on the railway to Tumut, which was closed in 1984. The bridge is in much better condition that the adjacent road bridge.

View of the bridge from the north end.

View of the bridge looking north.

View of the bridge across a local road on the flood plain.

View of the bridge looking north.

View of the bridge from a distance with the road bridge behind.

View of the rail bridge crossing the road to the ramp up to the road bridge.

View of the bridge looking north.

View of the steel truss span.

Detail of the timber truss span.

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This bridge crosses the Paterson River near Gresford. I'm not sure when it was built, but it is a very lightly constructed bridge. It has a three ton load limit and flexes considerably when you drive over it - easily the flimsiest bridge I have ever been over.

View of the bridge from the east side.

On the bridge looking west.

On the bridge looking east.

View from the west end.

Detail of the cable and hangers.

The bridge is surrounded by trees - can't get a side view.

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Kayuka Bridge is an iron lattice bridge over the Hunter River. It is located in Muswelbrook, on Kayuga Road. It was built in 1881

View of the bridge from the east side.

View of the bridge from the east end.

View from the east side.

View from the east side.

View from the east end.

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Hampden Bridge is a suspension bridge built in 1895 over the Kangaroo River in Kangaroo Valley, south west of Sydney. The bridge features large sandstone turrets and a timber trussed deck. The bridge was designed by Ernest de Burgh - same designer of the de Burgh truss bridges. This is why the trusses look very similar to de Burgh truss bridges. The bridge was completely restored in 2012 and will be preserved. An interesting note was that the bridge was opened just six days before the old bridge (an Old PWD timber truss bridge) was washed away by a flood.

View of the bridge from the north side.

View of the bridge from the north end.

View from the river bed.

View on the bridge looking north.

View from the north side.

View from the south end.

View on the bridge looking south.

Close view from the river bed.

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Denison is a wrought iron truss bridge over the Macquarie River in Bathurst. It was constructed in 1870 and is the second oldest iron bridge in NSW, after the Prince alfred Bridge in Gundagai. It is preserved as a footbridge.

View of the bridge from the north side.

View from the north end.

View of the truss.

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Dubbo Rail Bridge was built around 1880 and crosses the Macquarie River in Dubbo. It is an iron lattice truss bridge.

View of the bridge from the south west side.

View of one span.

Closer view from the south west side.

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This bridge is located on Hodges Road, just off Lachlan Valley Way about 42km west of Forbes and crosses the Lachlan River. Bailey bridges are usually built as temporary bridges, but this one looks like it has been there a while. The deck looks quite frail and has been repaired with various objects, including a speed sign!

View of the bridge from the south west side.

View of the bridge from the south end.

View of the deck.

View from the Bailey truss.

View of the deck with the speed sign patch.

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Taemas Bridge is a steel Pratt truss bridge over the Murumbidgee River at the eastern end of Lake Burrinjuc reservoir, about 22km south of Yass. The de Burgh timber truss is based on the Pratt design with the diagonals in tension and the verticals in compression. This bridge is located on Wee Japser Road and was built in 1930.

View of the bridge from the north side.

View of the bridge from the north end.

View from the south end.

View of one of the trusses.

View of the bridge and countryside from the north side.

View of the deck and truss.

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The Cowra Rail Bridge over the Lachlan River was built in 1887. It is an iron lattice bridge of the same design as the Dubbo Rail Bridge. The line was closed in about 2007.

View of the bridge from the west side.

Closer view from the west side.

View of the bridge from the north end.

View from the north side.

View of the deck.

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The Mia Mia Bridge has a very interesting history. The iron trusses were originally built in England for the Hawthorn Bridge over the Yarra River in Melbourne. The ship, Herald of the Morning, which was carrying the trusses as well as many passengers, caught fire and sank near the end of its journey in Hobsons Bay. New trusses were built and sent to Australia for the Hawthorn Bridge. The original trusses were salvaged from the bottom of the bay 10 years later and were sold in 1859 to two country shires, McIvor and Metcalfe for £1000. The bridge was constructed as a through truss with overhead stiffening girders, rather than the deck truss the ironwork was intended for. The deck is constructed from timber in a similar manner to the truss bridges of NSW. The bridge crosses the Campaspe River and was completed in 1868. The bridge is located on Heathcote - Redesdale Road a few km north west of Redesdale, Victoria.

View of the bridge from the east side.

View of the bridge from the east side.

Side view.

Deck view.

View from the east side with signs.

The bridge is a tight fit for trucks.

View of the underside.

View of the iron lattice truss.

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Kirwans Bridge was built in 1890, it crosses the Goulburn River near Nagambie. It is 310m long and is the longest timber bridge in Victoria. It has a bend in the middle and two passing bays..

View of the bridge from the north side.

View of the deck showing the passing lane.

The bridge was once wider than it is now.

View of the deck.

View of the bridge from the north end.

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This bridge crosses the Murray River at Tocumwal. It was built in 1895 as a road bridge. In 1908, it was strengthened and converted to a road / rail bridge. A new road bridge was constructed in 1987 and the old bridge has been used as a rail bridge since that time. It still sees the occasional train, but the lift span has not been operational for years.

View of the bridge from the north east side.

View of the bridge from the north end.

View of the lift span.

View of the deck.

View from the south east side.

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Echuca Bridge was built in 1878 as a rail bridge but local riots soon resulted in the bridge becoming a road/rail bridge. The separate rail bridge was built in 1989 and the original bridge became road only.

View of the bridge from the south west side.

View of the bridge from the footpath.

View of the old bridge with the newer rail bridge.

View of the bridge from underneath.

View of the large girders that comprise the main spans.

Bridge Name	Date Built	Type	Location	Waterway Name	Status	To be preserved?
Allan Bridge	1930s?	Timber suspension	North east of Aberdeen	Pages River	In use	Unknown
Kindee Bridge	1936	Timber suspension	West of Port Macquarie	Hastings River	In use	Unknown
Luskintyre Bridge	1903	Steel truss	Luskintyre	Hunter River	In use	Yes
Grafton Bridge	1932	Steel truss	Grafton	Clarence River	In use	Probably
Kempsey Bridge	1959	Steel truss	Kempsey	Macleay River	In use	Probably
West Gate Bridge	1978	Steel box girder	Melbourne	Yarra River	In use	Probably
Monbulk Trestle	1899	Timber trestle rail	Belgrave, Victoria	Monbulk Creek	In use	Yes
Eltham Trestle	1902	Timber trestle rail	Eltham, Victoria	Latrobe River	In use	Yes
Gundagai Road Bridge	1865	Timber trestle	Gundagai	Murumbidgee River	Closed	Yes, sort of
Gundagai Rail Bridge	1900	Timber truss rail	Gundagai	Murumbidgee River	Closed	Yes, sort of
Gresford	?	Suspension	Gresford	Paterson River	In use	Unknown
Kayuga Beidge	1881	Iron lattice	Muswellbrook	Hunter River	In use	Yes
Hampden	1903	Suspension	Kangaroo Valley	Kangaroo River	In use	Yes
Denison	1870	Iron lattice	Bathurst	Macquarie River	In use	Yes, as pedestrian
Dubbo Rail Bridge	1880s	Steel lattice rail	Dubbo	Macquarie River	In use	Unknown
Straneys Bridge	?	Bailey	West of Forbes	Lachlan River	In use	Probably not
Taemas Bridge	1930	Steel truss	South of Yass	Murumbidgee River	In use	Probably
Cowra Rail Bridge	1887	Steel lattice rail	Cowra	Lachlan River	Closed	Unknown
Murrah River Bridge	?	Timber trestle	Tathra-Bergamui Road	Murrah River	In use	Probably not
Mia Mia Bridge	1868	Iron lattice	Redesdale	Campaspe River	In use	Yes
Kirwans Bridge	1890	Timber trestle	Negambie	Goulburn River	In use	Yes, for now
Tocumwal Rail Bridge	1895	Steel truss + lift	Tocumwal	Murray River	In use	Yes, for now
Echuca Bridge	1878	Steel girder	Echuca	Murray River	In use	Yes