Bridgewater Bridge (Tasmania)
Coordinates: 42 ° 44 ′ 27 ″ S , 147 ° 13 ′ 31 ″ E
| Bridgewater Bridge | ||
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| use | Road transport / rail transport | |
| Convicted |
Midland Highway (  )
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| Crossing of | Derwent River | |
| place | Bridgewater (Tasmania) | |
| construction | Steel lift bridge | |
| start of building | 1939 | |
| completion | 1946 | |
| location | ||
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| Above sea level | 0 m | |
The Bridgewater Bridge is a steel lift bridge over the Derwent River in the southeast of the Australian state of Tasmania . The Midland Highway (N1) runs across it and connects the Brooker Highway (N1) and Lyell Highway (A10) in Granton on the south bank of the river with the East Derwent Highway (B32) and Boyer Road (B10) in Bridgewater on the North bank.
It consists of a lift bridge and a dam that connects this lift bridge with the north bank. The two-lane highway and the single-lane railway line Hobart – Launceston are led over the bridge. There is also a footpath in the area of the lift bridge.
As the bridge is located on the main thoroughfare from Hobart to Launceston , lifting the bridge, depending on the time of day and time of year, can result in significant traffic jams.
history
The Bridgewater Bridge was one of the first bridges built in Tasmania after British colonization in 1803. The settlement on the northern bank was named after her. Lieutenant Governor George Arthur initiated the construction of the bridge and dam as part of the Hobart-Launceston highway, which provided easier access to the farmland in central Tasmania.
The dam
Construction on the river crossing began in 1829. The first dam was built by 200 convicts . These convicts, who had nothing but wheelbarrows, shovels, pickaxes and their sheer muscle strength, moved 2 million tons of earth, stones and clay. The completed dam stretched 1.3 km but did not cross the entire river. The original plan evidently provided for the construction of a viaduct , but was discarded and the arches, which were already half-finished, were filled in, so that today's dam was created.
The first bridges
After the dam was completed, a punt was initially used to cross the deep channel of the river, but was soon unable to cope with the volume of traffic. The first bridge at this point on the river was therefore opened in 1849. It was planned by the architect and former convict James Blackburn (1803-1854). It was a swing bridge and could be turned 90 ° to allow ships to pass through. In the late 1870s, the Launceston – Hobart Railway requested changes to the dam so they could lay their rails over it. The dam was widened and the bridge was also modified.
On July 22nd, 1886, a train drove over the bridge, the locomotive derailed, overturned and finally hung over the water in a dangerous position at the southern end of the swing bridge. The engine driver and stoker were injured, but there were no fatalities and the engine was also salvaged. The reason for the accident was determined to be a poor fit of the rails when the bridge was closed. So they changed the bridge again to eliminate this problem. The bridge served traffic for a few more decades and was only replaced by a new swing bridge at the beginning of the 20th century. The pivot bearing and the sandstone bearings are still standing today and can be seen on the left of today's bridge when driving north.
Both the first and second bridges did not run straight from the end of the dam, but rather made a slight right turn. The second swing bridge was left standing when today's lift bridge was built so that traffic did not have to be stopped during construction. Thus, today's bridge deviates significantly from the line of the dam.
Today's lift bridge
Construction of today's steel lift bridge over the Derwent River began in 1939. It was shortly interrupted by World War II, but the bridge was finally completed in 1946. The link consists of a long concrete bridge leading from the end of the dam to the lift bridge and the lift bridge itself near the north bank. This lift bridge is one of the few of its kind still in existence in the southern hemisphere today, and the largest in Australia. It was designed for a lifetime of 100 years. There is a small bridge keeper's house on the lift bridge, which houses the switches and valves for raising and lowering the bridge.
Until 1984, the Australian Newsprint Mills (now Norske Skog Papier) in Boyer near New Norfolk , up the river, transported all their products on the river. Many ships carrying paper ran between the paper mill and the storage sheds at Pavilion Point in Hobart. Therefore the bridge had to be opened very often. Therefore, a bridge keeper lived on the bridge who opened or closed it when necessary. When the decision was made to abandon ship transport, the bridge keeper was no longer needed. The bridge can still be opened today, but this rarely happens.
Because of the willful destruction of the bridge keeper's house, surveillance cameras were installed on the lift bridge between 2003 and 2005.
On October 30, 2006, a partial fatigue fracture was found on one of the steel cables for the two 170-ton counterweights made of concrete, which hang over the roadway. This led to the bridge being temporarily closed. This closure caused traffic congestion at peak times, especially on the East Derwent Highway, as traffic had to be routed further downstream via Bowen Bridge and Tasman Bridge . The steel cables that were pulled in in 1994 were supposed to last for 20 years, but actually only lasted a little more than half of that time. Investigations are therefore currently being carried out on the quality of the maintenance work on the bridge.
Replacement of the current bridge
In 2001 the federal government pledged AU $ 100 million to replace the Bridgewater Bridge, shortly after the Tasmanian state government announced its intention to build a new bridge south of the current bridge. After nothing has happened in this direction for years, the state government is now bringing monument protection aspects into play when replacing this bridge. Now the bridge is to be replaced as part of the construction of the Brighton bypass and the renewal of the Midland Highway.
Towards the end of 2010, the state government published plans for a new crossing of the Derwent River near the current bridge. The new bridge will only serve as the overpass of the Midland Highway; Railway connections, local road traffic and footpaths will continue to be handled over the old bridge. The Bridgwater Bridge is no longer deemed to be adequate for traffic on the Midland Highway, but it is an important monument and is considered a landmark in the area.
Web links
- Historical photos of the Bridgewater Bridge and the dam. State Library of Tasmania
- Modern photo of the Bridgewater Bridge and the dam. RailTasmania
Individual evidence
- ^ Harley Preston: Blackburn, James (1803-1854) . Australian Dictionary of Biography. Volume 1. Melbourne University Press, Melbourne 1966. pp. 109-110. Online edition, see Blackburn, James (1803-1854) . Australian Dictionary of Biography Online.
- ^ Bridgewater Bridge Transcript . Stateline Tasmania. 2005. Archived from the original on November 10, 2012. Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved April 28, 2007.
- ↑ Bridgewater Bridge Replacement Planning Study (PDF; 2.4 MB) December 2010. Accessed January 2, 2011.
