The Macleay Valley Bridge is a

road bridge A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somethi ...

over the

Macleay River The Macleay River is a river that spans the Northern Tablelands and Mid North Coast districts of New South Wales, Australia. Course and features Formed by the confluence of the Gara River, Salisbury Waters and Bakers Creek, the Macleay River r ...

and its

floodplain A floodplain or flood plain or bottomlands is an area of land adjacent to a river which stretches from the banks of its channel to the base of the enclosing valley walls, and which experiences flooding during periods of high discharge.Goudi ...

near the settlement of Frederickton, New South Wales, Australia. The bridge is part of the Pacific Highway (A1) new alignment which bypasses Kempsey and Frederickton. At the time of its official opening in 2013, the bridge was the longest road bridge in Australia.

Description

The bridge is constructed of 941 concrete beams supported by 93 piers. Installation of all support beams was completed in October 2012. On 24 February 2013 the bridge was opened to visitors for a preview walk, and then to traffic on 27 March 2013 following an official opening by Anthony Albanese , the Minister for Infrastructure and Regional Development. The bridge carries four lanes of traffic, part of a stretch of

divided highway A dual carriageway ( BE) or divided highway ( AE) is a class of highway with carriageways for traffic travelling in opposite directions separated by a central reservation (BrE) or median (AmE). Roads with two or more carriageways which are ...

; two lanes in each direction, each lane wide. The bridge was constructed by

Abigroup Abigroup was an Australian construction company. History Abigroup was established as Graham Evans & Co in 1957 as a civil engineering company within New South Wales, being renamed Abignano in 1961. In 1981 it was listed on the Australian Securiti ...

as part of the 618 million Kempsey Bypass project funded by the

Australian Government The Australian Government, also known as the Commonwealth Government, is the national government of Australia, a federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy. Like other Westminster-style systems of government, the Australian Government ...

from the Building Australia Fund; within this budget, the bridge itself cost $185 million.

Bridge name

Following completion of the bridge,

Roads & Maritime Services A road is a linear way for the conveyance of traffic that mostly has an improved surface for use by vehicles (motorized and non-motorized) and pedestrians. Unlike streets, the main function of roads is transportation. There are many types of ...

invited the local community to suggest a name for the new bridge. The names Macleay River Bridge or the Macleay River and Floodplain Bridge were to be selected if there was no clear preference. Approximately 70 names were suggested which recognised the history of the area, local people, and the community. In February 2013 the

indigenous Indigenous may refer to: *Indigenous peoples *Indigenous (ecology), presence in a region as the result of only natural processes, with no human intervention *Indigenous (band), an American blues-rock band *Indigenous (horse), a Hong Kong racehorse ...

Dangghati people requested to name the bridge in the local

Dhanggati language Dhanggati (Dunghutti, Thangatti), previously known as Dyangadi (Djangadi),''Daingatti'' has also been given as a name, but may be a different language. is the extinct Australian Aboriginal language once spoken by the Djangadi of the Macleay Val ...

''Yapang gurraarrbang gayandugayigu'', translated to English to mean a ''very long track to the other side''. The group's submission received the support of the Macleay Coast Tourism Association and the

Slim Dusty Slim Dusty, AO MBE (born David Gordon Kirkpatrick; 13 June 1927 – 19 September 2003) was an Australian country music singer-songwriter, guitarist and producer. He was an Australian cultural icon and one of the country's most awarded stars ...

Centre. The bridge was officially named the ''Macleay Valley Bridge'' on 1 December 2015; it has also been given the secondary name of ''Yapang gurraarrbang gayanddugayigu'' (or long track to the other side) underneath the main name.

References

External links

Kempsey Upgrade at RTA website

Kempsey Upgrade Map
* 2013 establishments in Australia Beam bridges Bridges completed in 2013 Concrete bridges in Australia Girder bridges Mid North Coast Pacific Highway (Australia) Road bridges in New South Wales Viaducts in Australia {{NewSouthWales-struct-stub

Description

Bridge name

See also

References

External links