The Joy Baluch AM Bridge is a bridge across

Spencer Gulf The Spencer Gulf is the westernmost and larger of two large inlets (the other being Gulf St Vincent) on the southern coast of Australia, in the state of South Australia, facing the Great Australian Bight. It spans from the Cape Catastrophe ...

between

Port Augusta Port Augusta is a small city in South Australia. Formerly a seaport, it is now a road traffic and railway junction city mainly located on the east coast of the Spencer Gulf immediately south of the gulf's head and about north of the state c ...

and

Port Augusta West Port Augusta West is a suburb of Port Augusta, South Australia, Port Augusta, South Australia. However, it has a separate early colonial history to Port Augusta, because it is on the Eyre Peninsula, while the rest of Port Augusta is on the east ...

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

. It carries

Highway 1 The following highways are numbered 1. For roads numbered A1, see list of A1 roads. For roads numbered B1, see list of B1 roads. For roads numbered M1, see List of M1 roads. For roads numbered N1, see list of N1 roads. For roads numbered ...

and is a key road link on both east–west and north–south road routes in Australia. The western end leads to

Eyre Peninsula The Eyre Peninsula is a triangular peninsula in South Australia. It is bounded by the Spencer Gulf on the east, the Great Australian Bight on the west, and the Gawler Ranges to the north. Originally called Eyre’s Peninsula, it was named af ...

, the

Eyre Highway Eyre Highway is a highway linking Western Australia and South Australia via the Nullarbor Plain. Signed as National Highways 1 and A1, it forms part of Highway 1 and the Australian National Highway network linking Perth and Adelaide. It ...

(to

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to ...

) and the

Stuart Highway Stuart Highway is a major Australian highway. It runs from Darwin, in the Northern Territory, via Tennant Creek and Alice Springs, to Port Augusta in South Australia; a distance of . Its northern and southern extremities are segments of Aust ...

(to the

Northern Territory The Northern Territory (commonly abbreviated as NT; formally the Northern Territory of Australia) is an Australian territory in the central and central northern regions of Australia. The Northern Territory shares its borders with Western Au ...

). The eastern end leads to the Augusta Highway towards

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater A ...

, Victoria and

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 ...

. The bridge was opened in 1972. In 2012 it was named after

Joy Baluch Nancy Joy Baluch (10 October 1932 – 14 May 2013) was an Australian politician who served as Mayor of Port Augusta from 1981 to 1993 and from 1995 until her death. Her term as mayor of 29 years is believed to be an Australian record. Baluch ...

who had been mayor of

for forty years.

Great Western Bridge

The current bridge replaced an earlier bridge known as the Great Western Bridge which had been built in 1927. It was rebuilt and widened in 1944. The older bridge is still visible north of the current crossing. Until 2017 it had continued to be used as a pedestrian and cycling bridge, and for recreational fishing. An engineering report identified that the structure of the 90-year-old timber bridge was failing and needed significant investment to remain safe for public access, so the bridge was closed. When access to the old bridge was closed, the speed limit on the main bridge was initially reduced to 25 km/h to provide safety for the increased cyclist and pedestrian traffic. This was then raised to 40 km/h which is expected to remain until the new bridge is completed.

Bridge duplication

As of March 2020, The bridge is being duplicated by adding a second two-lane bridge immediately north of the original bridge. This will be funded by $160 million by the

Federal Government A federation (also known as a federal state) is a political entity characterized by a union of partially self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a central federal government (federalism). In a federation, the self-govern ...

and $40 million by the

Government of South Australia The Government of South Australia, also referred to as the South Australian Government, SA Government or more formally, His Majesty’s Government, is the Australian state democratic administrative authority of South Australia. It is modelled o ...

and is expected to be completed in 2022. Both bridges will have two-way shared pedestrian/cycling paths separated from the road traffic. The contract for detailed design and construction was let in March 2020 to the Port Wakefield to Port Augusta Alliance, a consortium of CPB Contractors, Aurecon and GHD Group. This consortium is also responsible for the overpass and duplication on Port Wakefield Road near Port Wakefield.

References

{{Eyre Peninsula Bridges in South Australia Eyre Peninsula Spencer Gulf Bridges completed in 1972 1972 establishments in Australia