The Endeavour 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 ...
that carries the
General Holmes Drive
General Holmes Drive is a major divided road located in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The road forms part of the M1, the A1, the Sydney Orbital Network, and the Australian Highway 1 network. Initially built in 1919 as a two-lane roa ...
(
A1) across the
Cooks River
The Cooks River, a semi-mature tide-dominated drowned valley estuary, is a tributary of Botany Bay, located in south-eastern Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
The course of the long urban waterway has been altered to accommodate various dev ...
, from to in the
Bayside Council
Bayside Council is a local government in New South Wales, Australia. It is located in Sydney, around part of Botany Bay, to south of the CBD. It includes suburbs of South Sydney and the St George area separated by the Cooks River. It compr ...
local government area in
southern Sydney,
New South Wales
)
, nickname =
, image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, es ...
, Australia. The bridge is located adjacent to the
river mouth
A river mouth is where a river flows into a larger body of water, such as another river, a lake/reservoir, a bay/ gulf, a sea, or an ocean. At the river mouth, sediments are often deposited due to the slowing of the current reducing the carryin ...
, where the Cooks River empties into
Botany Bay
Botany Bay ( Dharawal: ''Kamay''), an open ocean
The ocean (also the sea or the world ocean) is the body of salt water that covers approximately 70.8% of the surface of Earth and contains 97% of Earth's water. An ocean can also refe ...
.
The bridge is maintained by
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 ...
, an
agency
Agency may refer to:
Organizations
* Institution, governmental or others
** Advertising agency or marketing agency, a service business dedicated to creating, planning and handling advertising for its clients
** Employment agency, a business that ...
of the
Government of New South Wales.
History
The Endeavour Bridge was opened to traffic in May 1951 as two, two-lane bridges. The road carries
motor vehicle
A motor vehicle, also known as motorized vehicle or automotive vehicle, is a self-propelled land vehicle, commonly wheeled, that does not operate on rails (such as trains or trams) and is used for the transportation of people or cargo.
The ...
s and a
grade-separated
In civil engineering (more specifically highway engineering), grade separation is a method of aligning a junction of two or more surface transport axes at different heights (grades) so that they will not disrupt the traffic flow on other t ...
pedestrian footpath.
It was built due to the diversion of Cooks River required by the expansion of
Kingsford-Smith Airport. The bridges were constructed before the water flow was diverted beneath them.
In 1963 the two bridges were widened by extending their decks into the area between them, resulting in one six-lane bridge. This upgrade was undertaken in conjunction with the upgrade of General Holmes Drive from four to six lanes, which was the first upgrading of a 'county road' as part of the County of Cumberland Planning Scheme.
Etymology
The Endeavour Bridge takes its name from , the ship commanded by
James Cook, an English explorer, navigator and cartographer. Lieutenant Cook and the crew of the ''Endeavour'' were the first recorded European expedition to navigate and map the eastern coastline of Australia. They arrived in nearby Botany Bay in 1770.
See also
*
List of bridges in Sydney
References
External links
*
{{Road infrastructure in Sydney
Bridges in Sydney
Cooks River
Botany Bay
Bridges completed in 1951
1951 establishments in Australia
Road bridges in New South Wales
Highway 1 (Australia)
Kyeemagh, New South Wales
Mascot, New South Wales