The Ryde Bridge, also called the Uhrs Point Bridge,
are two
road bridges that carry Concord Road, part of the
A3, across
Parramatta River from in the
northern suburbs of
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 ...
to in Sydney's
inner west, in
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 two bridges comprise a heritage-listed
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 ...
Pratt 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 ...
with inoperable
lift span that carries three lanes of northbound vehicular traffic plus 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 tr ...
pedestrian
A pedestrian is a person traveling on foot, by wheelchair or with other mobility aids. Streets and roads often have a designated footpath for pedestrian traffic, called the '' sidewalk'' in North American English, the ''pavement'' in British En ...
footpath, completed in 1935; and a reinforced concrete
fixed-span bridge that carries three lanes of southbound vehicular traffic, completed in 1988.
History
A proposal for the construction of a bridge in lieu of a ferry over the Parramatta River, between Meadowbank and Rhodes, was first submitted to the Minister for Public Works in 1913. Owing to funds being unavailable for the purpose, no action was taken until 1920.
In July 1924, the Minister for Public Works announced in Parliament that he was prepared to introduce a bill to give the involved councils the power to build the bridge. A site investigation followed, and its results was transferred to the
Main Roads Board in July 1928.
The original Ryde Bridge was opened on 7 December 1935 by the
Premier
Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier.
A premier will normally be a head of govern ...
Bertram Stevens, accompanied by the Mayor of
Ryde.
[ The original bridge is a lift bridge, which was required to allow shipping to pass to the State Timber Yard then located on the southern bank of the Parramatta River, just west of the bridge. However the lifting mechanism was removed in the late 20th century and it has not been opened since. The bridge was paid for by the Ryde Council with the assistance of a grant from the New South Wales Government. The bridge carried a toll for 13 years until the bridge was paid for. In 1948, ownership of the bridge was transferred to the Department of Main Roads.][ It was officially opened on 25 November 1988 by the Premier Nick Greiner and Federal Minister For Transport Ralph Willis.
Before the original bridge was constructed, the Parramatta River was crossed in this area by a vehicular punt, just downstream of the Meadowbank Railway Bridge. The southern ramp still exists near the southern end of the railway bridge, however the northern ramp has been covered over by Meadowbank ferry wharf.
]
Heritage significance
Other
The Hexham Bridge, located northeast of Sydney and which spans the Hunter River is very similar to 1935 Pratt truss Ryde Bridge.
See also
References
External links
*
{{Geography of Parramatta River
Bridges in Sydney
Bridges completed in 1935
Vertical lift bridges in Australia
Road bridges in New South Wales
1935 establishments in Australia
Bridges completed in 1987
1987 establishments in Australia
Former toll bridges in Australia
Ryde, New South Wales
Parramatta River
Pratt truss bridges
Steel bridges in Australia
Concrete bridges in Australia
Truss bridges in Australia