The Birkenhead Bridge is a
bascule bridge
A bascule bridge (also referred to as a drawbridge or a lifting bridge) is a moveable bridge with a counterweight that continuously balances a span, or leaf, throughout its upward swing to provide clearance for boat traffic. It may be single- o ...
in
Adelaide
Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...
, Australia that crosses the
Port River
The Port River (officially known as the Port Adelaide River) is part of a tidal estuary located north of the Adelaide city centre in the Australian state of South Australia. It has been used as a shipping channel since the beginning of European ...
.
In February 1938, the
Government of South Australia
The Government of South Australia, also referred to as the South Australian Government or the SA Government, is the executive branch of the state government, state of South Australia. It is modelled on the Westminster system, meaning that the h ...
awarded a contract to Adelaide Construction to build a bridge across the Port River from
Birkenhead
Birkenhead () is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, Merseyside, England. The town is on the Wirral Peninsula, along the west bank of the River Mersey, opposite Liverpool. It lies within the Historic counties of England, historic co ...
to
Port Adelaide
Port Adelaide is a port-side region of Adelaide, approximately northwest of the Adelaide city centre, Adelaide CBD. It is also the namesake of the City of Port Adelaide Enfield council, a suburb, a federal and state electoral division and is t ...
, with
Perry Engineering
Perry Engineering was a major foundry and steel engineering works in the state of South Australia.
History
Perry Engineering had its origins in 1899 when Samuel Perry purchased from the estate of James Wedlock the Cornwall Foundry on Hindley S ...
contracted to supply the steelwork. The bridge was opened on 14 December 1940 by
Governor
A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...
Malcolm Barclay-Harvey
Sir Charles Malcolm Barclay-Harvey, KCMG (2 March 1890 – 17 November 1969) was a British politician and Governor of South Australia from 12 August 1939 until 26 April 1944.
Biography
The only child of James Charles Barclay-Harvey, of Dinnet ...
. It was one of only four bascule bridges in the world adapted for use by
trolleybus
A trolleybus (also known as trolley bus, trolley coach, trackless trolley, trackless tramin the 1910s and 1920sJoyce, J.; King, J. S.; and Newman, A. G. (1986). ''British Trolleybus Systems'', pp. 9, 12. London: Ian Allan Publishing. .or troll ...
es.
In 2014, two of the four road lanes were converted into pedestrian and bike paths. In 2020, the timber road deck has been replaced with
fibre reinforced polymer and the timber footpath with aluminium.
The bridge is listed on the
South Australian Heritage Register
The South Australian Heritage Register, also known as the SA Heritage Register, is a statutory register of historic places in South Australia. It extends legal protection regarding demolition and development under the ''Heritage Places Act 1993'' ...
.
Birkenhead Bridge
South Australia Heritage Places
References
External links
{{Port Adelaide landmarks, state=collapsed
Bascule bridges in Australia
Bridges completed in 1940
Buildings and structures in Adelaide
Lefevre Peninsula
Road bridges in South Australia
South Australian Heritage Register
1940 establishments in Australia