Milperra Bridge is a road bridge that carries Newbridge Road across

Georges River The Georges River, also known as Tucoerah River, is an intermediate tide-dominated Ria, drowned valley estuary, that is located in Sydney, Australia. The Georges River is located south and south-west from the Sydney central business district, w ...

, between Canterbury-Bankstown and local government areas, in

South Western Sydney South Western Sydney is a region of the city of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian c ...

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

, Australia. The bridge is located adjacent to Henry Lawson Drive and Bankstown Airport, and Newbridge Road serves as a westerly continuation of Canterbury and Milperra Roads.

History

Prior to the bridge being built, there was no road crossing of

between Tom Uglys Bridge and

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

, although the road to

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, in the county of Kent, England; it was a county borough until 1974. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. The city has a mild oceanic climat ...

(Milperra Road) was built up to the east bank. The road over Georges River via Liverpool Weir and the later 1894 truss bridge went southeast toward

Wollongong Wollongong ( ; Dharawal: ''Woolyungah'') is a city located in the Illawarra region of New South Wales, Australia. The name is believed to originate from the Dharawal language, meaning either 'five islands/clouds', 'ground near water' or 'sound ...

via Old Illawarra Road, through what is now the Holsworthy Military Reserve. There was call for access between the two post-World War 1 soldier settlement areas at Chipping Norton and Milperra, and a punt was proposed in the early 1920s. The subsequent early design for the bridge by the Department of Public Works showed a height above water of only which was much decried by the locals, requesting the Department that it be higher, for the commercial and sporting interests of the area. The Department replied with a proposal of . The bridge, a two-lane three-span wooden truss bridge, was opened to traffic in April 1931. By the 1960s, this bridge was not able to cope with the increase in traffic and was slated for replacement. The current prestressed concrete structure, 85 m long, is wider and higher than the previous bridge, and carries six lanes of traffic. It was built in two stages, with the eastbound half being built first, immediately upstream of the original bridge. This opened for two-way traffic in October 1965 and the earlier bridge was then demolished and other half of the new bridge, for westbound traffic, was built on the site of the original bridge. The replacement bridge was completed and opened in February 1966.

Associated Construction

The new bridge was part of a simultaneous upgrading of Milperra and Newbridge Roads, which were widened to six lanes from Victoria St Revesby to what is now Kelso Crescent Moorebank (Kelso Crescent was previously part of Epsom Rd, with Newbridge Road terminating at Epsom Rd). The section of Newbridge Road from Kelso Crescent westward had been reconstructed to six lanes in 1958 in conjunction with the construction of Liverpool Bridge.

References

{{Road infrastructure in Sydney Road bridges in New South Wales Bridges completed in 1965 1930 establishments in Australia Concrete bridges in Australia Bankstown, New South Wales Liverpool, New South Wales Georges River