The Mooney Mooney Bridge, officially the Mooney Mooney Creek Bridge, and popularly known as The NSW Big Dipper Bridge, is a twin

cantilever bridge A cantilever bridge is a bridge built using structures that project horizontally into space, supported on only one end (called cantilevers). For small footbridges, the cantilevers may be simple beam (structure), beams; however, large cantilever ...

that carries the Pacific Motorway (M1) across

Mooney Mooney Creek The Mooney Mooney Creek, a perennial river that is part of the Hawkesbury- Nepean catchment, is located in the Central Coast region of New South Wales, Australia. Course and features The Mooney Mooney Creek rises southeast of Central Mangrove ...

, located near in the

Brisbane Water National Park Brisbane Water National Park is a national park on the Central Coast (New South Wales), Central Coast of New South Wales, Australia. The national park is situated north of Sydney and southwest of Gosford. It consists the Brisbane Water and Moo ...

on the Central Coast of

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

concrete Concrete is a composite material composed of aggregate bound together with a fluid cement that cures to a solid over time. It is the second-most-used substance (after water), the most–widely used building material, and the most-manufactur ...

box girder A box girder or tubular girder (or box beam) is a girder that forms an enclosed tube with multiple walls, as opposed to an i-beam, - or H-beam. Originally constructed of wrought iron joined by riveting, they are now made of rolled steel, rolled ...

bridge was opened on 14 December 1986 by the

Prime Minister of Australia The prime minister of Australia is the head of government of the Commonwealth of Australia. The prime minister is the chair of the Cabinet of Australia and thus the head of the Australian Government, federal executive government. Under the pr ...

Bob Hawke Robert James Lee Hawke (9 December 1929 – 16 May 2019) was an Australian politician and trade unionist who served as the 23rd prime minister of Australia from 1983 to 1991. He held office as the Australian Labor Party, leader of the La ...

, and is owned and maintained by

Transport for NSW Transport for NSW (TfNSW) is a Government of New South Wales, New South Wales Government transport services and roads List of New South Wales government agencies, agency established on 1 November 2011. The agency is a different entity to the NSW ...

, an agency of the

Government of New South Wales The Government of New South Wales, also known as the NSW Government, is the executive state government of New South Wales, Australia. The government comprises 11 portfolios, led by a ministerial department and supported by several agencies. Th ...

. The Pacific Motorway is the main road link between

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 ...

, the Central Coast and the

Hunter Region The Hunter Region, also commonly known as the Hunter Valley, Newcastle Region, or simply Hunter, spans the region in northern New South Wales, Australia, extending from approximately to north of Sydney. It contains the Hunter River (New Sout ...

. The only other road that links all three regions is the Pacific Highway (B83) which from to follows a scenic winding route.

History

The Pacific Highway (now known as B83) served as the only

highway A highway is any public or private road or other public way on land. It includes not just major roads, but also other public roads and rights of way. In the United States, it is also used as an equivalent term to controlled-access highway, or ...

route between Sydney and the Central Coast and the Hunter Region. The original 1930 two-lane

steel Steel is an alloy of iron and carbon that demonstrates improved mechanical properties compared to the pure form of iron. Due to steel's high Young's modulus, elastic modulus, Yield (engineering), yield strength, Fracture, fracture strength a ...

truss bridge A truss bridge is a bridge whose load-bearing superstructure is composed of a truss, a structure of connected elements, usually forming triangular units. The connected elements, typically straight, may be stressed from tension, compression, or ...

carried the Old Pacific Highway across Mooney Mooney Creek. This bridge remains in concurrent use and is located downstream of the existing Mooney Mooney Bridge. With population and traffic growth, the scenic winding highway route was beset by traffic jams, especially at peak holiday times. Whilst planning for a new high-speed freeway-style traffic link between and began in 1952, it was not until April 1963 when construction of the first section of the F3 Pacific Freeway started, between the

Hawkesbury River The Hawkesbury River, or Hawkesbury-Nepean River (Dharug language, Dharug: Dyarubbin) is a river located northwest of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The Hawkesbury River and its associated main tributary, the Nepean River, almost encircle ...

and , completed in December 1965. A second stage from Mount White to was completed in October 1966. South of the Hawkesbury River, the freeway-grade section to was completed in December 1968, as a

toll road A toll road, also known as a turnpike or tollway, is a public or private road for which a fee (or ''Toll (fee), toll'') is assessed for passage. It is a form of road pricing typically implemented to help recoup the costs of road construction and ...

. In October 1973 the Peats Ferry Bridge was duplicated as the

Brooklyn Bridge The Brooklyn Bridge is a cable-stayed suspension bridge in New York City, spanning the East River between the boroughs of Manhattan and Brooklyn. Opened on May 24, 1883, the Brooklyn Bridge was the first fixed crossing of the East River. It w ...

, connecting the Berowra-Hawkesbury River and Hawkesbury River-Calga sections. Concurrently, the freeway was opened from to and to Wallarah Creek sections in December 1983, including the single carriageway motorway link from Wallarah Creek to the Pacific Highway at . The section between Calga and Somersby, including the new Mooney Mooney Creek bridge was opened on 14 December 1986, as thousands of people walked across the twin bridges. The freeway carried two lanes heading north and two lanes heading south. Additional developments were made as follows: * September 1987freeway was completed from Wallarah Creek interchange to Mandalong Road interchange * March 1988freeway completed from Mandalong Road interchange to Freemans Waterhole interchange * March 1989Wahroonga to Berowra section opened * December 1990section from interchange to Palmer's Road completed * December 1993Palmer's Road to section opened * December 1997"missing link" between Ourimbah and Kangy Angy opened * November 1998final stage of freeway opened between Minmi and John Renshaw Drive, Beresfield * December 2004completion of widening to six lanes of the four-lane sections between the Hawkesbury River and Calga * November 2009completion of widening to six lanes of the four-lane sections between Wahroonga and the Hawkesbury River, resulting in a continuous six lane width over the from Wahroonga to Kariong * August 2013road signs are being changed to show the new M1 marker and the new name Pacific Motorway as part of the statewide alpha numeric route scheme.

Design

Mooney Mooney Bridge was designed by Bruce Judd of the then NSW Department of Main Roads and built by Enpro Constructions by the free cantilever method of post tensioned concrete. It consists of twin bridges, each bridge with a main span and two approach spans. The span at the western end of the bridge is long, the main span is long and the eastern span is long.. Retrieved 13 February 2007. The design has been said to demonstrate how good engineering design and good

aesthetics Aesthetics (also spelled esthetics) is the branch of philosophy concerned with the nature of beauty and taste (sociology), taste, which in a broad sense incorporates the philosophy of art.Slater, B. H.Aesthetics ''Internet Encyclopedia of Ph ...

are synonymous, and has been used as a standard in the design of bridges throughout New South Wales. They employ a two rail

parapet A parapet is a barrier that is an upward extension of a wall at the edge of a roof, terrace, balcony, walkway or other structure. The word comes ultimately from the Italian ''parapetto'' (''parare'' 'to cover/defend' and ''petto'' 'chest/brea ...

which optimises views of the landscape. The bridges were designed with the natural surroundings in mind and form a simple uncluttered shape so not to detract from the natural bushland of the national park. The three span haunched

girder A girder () is a Beam (structure), beam used in construction. It is the main horizontal support of a structure which supports smaller beams. Girders often have an I-beam cross section composed of two load-bearing ''flanges'' separated by a sta ...

s on the bridge were critical to this as were the multiple

pier A pier is a raised structure that rises above a body of water and usually juts out from its shore, typically supported by piling, piles or column, pillars, and provides above-water access to offshore areas. Frequent pier uses include fishing, b ...

s that provide character and strength.

Incidents

The Mooney Mooney Bridge has been the site of several

accidents An accident is an unintended, normally unwanted event that was not deliberately caused by humans. The term ''accident'' implies that the event may have been caused by unrecognized or unaddressed risks. Many researchers, insurers and attorneys w ...

, resulting in the Pacific Motorway being closed to traffic and causing delays. Some of these accidents have prompted debate on whether a new road should be built to supplement the existing freeway. On 23 October 2004 a

semi-trailer A semi-trailer is a trailer (vehicle), trailer without a front axle. The combination of a semi-trailer and a tractor truck is called a ''semi-trailer truck'' (also known simply as a "semi-trailer", "tractor trailer", or "semi" in the United Sta ...

's brakes failed coming down the Freeway and caused a pile-up involving 35 vehicles that had slowed down as a result of a car accident on the other side of the bridge. This accident resulted in the death of a woman. On 12 February 2007 another accident occurred when a truck was travelling down the freeway and lost control approaching the bridge, smashing through a

guard rail Guard rails, guardrails, railings or protective guarding, in general, are a boundary feature and may be a means to prevent or deter access to dangerous or off-limits areas while allowing light and visibility in a greater way than a fence. Commo ...

and plunging 30 metres down an embankment at the side of the bridge. The Mooney Mooney Bridge, because of its height, has been susceptible in the past to people committing suicide. As a result, a fence was erected along the side of the bridge to prevent people jumping off. This fence was erected in 2003 and cost A$1,000,000.

Gallery

Mooney Mooney Bridge, Sydney-Newcastle Fwy..JPG, The Mooney Mooney Bridge from a driver's perspective - Heading North towards Newcastle. Mooney Mooney Bridge from Pacific Hwy.jpg, Mooney Mooney Bridge - M1 south bound (viewing NW) from the Pacific Highway overpass. The bridge can be identified by the darker shade of bitumen.

References

External links