The John Whitton Bridge is a

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

that carries the

Main Northern railway line The Main North Line (also known as the Great Northern Railway) is a major railway in New South Wales, Australia, running from Strathfield railway station, Strathfield in Sydney to Armidale railway station, Armidale. The 1980s saw the line clo ...

across the

Parramatta River The Parramatta River is an intermediate tide-dominated, Ria, drowned valley estuary located in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. With an average Altitude, height, and depth, depth of , the Parramatta River is the main tributary of Sydney Harbour ...

, located between the

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

suburbs of

Rhodes Rhodes (; ) is the largest of the Dodecanese islands of Greece and is their historical capital; it is the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, ninth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Administratively, the island forms a separ ...

and Meadowbank.

First bridge

The original double track Meadowbank Bridge opened on 17 September 1886 as part of the construction of the

. It was a

lattice truss bridge A lattice truss bridge is a form of truss bridge that uses many small, closely spaced diagonal elements forming a latticework, lattice. The design was patented in 1820 by architect Ithiel Town. Originally a means of erecting a substantial bridge ...

John Whitton John Whitton (1820 near Wakefield, Yorkshire, England – 20 February 1898), an English people, Anglo–Australians, Australian Railway systems engineering, railway civil engineer, engineer, was the Engineer-in-Charge for the New South Wales Gov ...

, the Chief Engineer of the

New South Wales Government Railways New South Wales Government Railways (NSWGR) was an agency of the Government of New South Wales that administered rail transport in the colony, and then the state, of New South Wales, Australia, between 1855 and 1932. History The NSWGR built ...

. In 2000, the original bridge was refurbished and reopened for

bike A bicycle, also called a pedal cycle, bike, push-bike or cycle, is a human-powered or motor-assisted, pedal-driven, single-track vehicle, with two wheels attached to a frame, one behind the other. A is called a cyclist, or bicyclist. B ...

and pedestrian use.

Second bridge

As part of plans to quadruple the Main North line, construction commenced on a new bridge to the west of the existing structure. The concrete piers were completed in 1952, before the project was cancelled. Work resumed in the 1970s, with a two-track

box girder bridge A box girder bridge, or box section bridge, is a bridge in which the main beam (structure), beams comprise girders in the shape of a hollow box. The box girder normally comprises prestressed concrete, structural steel, or a composite ma ...

opening in May 1980. The piers were extended to allow for a further two tracks to be built in the future. The new bridge was named after John Whitton.

References

External links

*
Flickr gallery
{{Australian railway bridges, state=autocollapse Bridges completed in 1886 Bridges completed in 1980 Bridges in Sydney Parramatta River Railway bridges in New South Wales Main North railway line, New South Wales 1980 establishments in Australia Steel bridges in Australia Box girder bridges in Australia

First bridge

Second bridge

See also

References

External links