This article needs additional citations for verification .(January 2008) |
Hobart Bridge | |
---|---|
Coordinates | 42°51′47″S147°20′33″E / 42.86306°S 147.34250°E |
Carries | Motor vehicles |
Crosses | Derwent River |
Locale | Hobart, Tasmania |
Characteristics | |
Design | Floating arch bridge |
Total length | 961 metres (3,154 ft) |
Width | 12 metres (40 ft 6 in) |
Clearance below | 44 metres (145 ft 6 in) (low tide) |
History | |
Opened | 22 December 1943 |
Closed | 17 August 1964 |
Replaced by | Tasman Bridge |
Statistics | |
Toll | 22 December 1943 – 31 December 1948 |
Location | |
The Hobart Bridge was a floating arch bridge that crossed the River Derwent, connecting the eastern and western shores of the city of Hobart, Tasmania, Australia.
Plans for a bridge to link the Derwent River’s two shores near Hobart date back to 1832. It was not until 1943 that the first bridge was completed, the Hobart floating bridge and lift span. The bridge was opened to toll traffic on 22 December 1943 and the collection of tolls continued until midnight on 31 December 1948.
Soon after its opening a violent storm blew in and damaged a section of the bridge, and to prevent the same happening again, the bridge was anchored to the riverbed in the middle and strengthening cables were added to stiffen the structure. After these modifications were completed the lifespan of the bridge was estimated as 21 years. It was closed on the 17 August 1964.
The bridge provided much better connection between the eastern and western shores, and consequently development on the eastern shore sped up and became so dense by the mid-1950s that the floating bridge could no longer handle the amount of traffic that was crossing it. Congestion became a severe problem, and in the late 1950s the decision was taken to construct a completely new bridge, the Tasman Bridge, which opened in August 1964.
The floating bridge was closed to traffic on 17 August of that year, and the following day the locking pin was removed and the two concrete sections towed away. For several years they were moored, but one of them sank in November 1970, and the Council undertook to dispose of them. The two halves were cut up and sunk at various locations.
The lift span was left in situ for some years but in the end it too was demolished. Today the only reminders of the bridge are the eastern foot of the lifting section which is still in place, and the preserved locking pin. One of the pontoons was sunk at Alonnah, and remains in use as a public jetty. Another piece is sunk in Ralphs Bay, in about 12 metres (40 ft) of water.
The Hobart Bridge was of unique design and construction, and the first of its type anywhere in the world. It was a floating bridge with a lift span, constructed of hollow concrete pontoons, 24 in all, connected together forming a crescent shape curved upstream, and anchored in the middle.
The bridge was constructed in 12-pontoon sections which were then towed out into the river and connected to the banks and to each other in the middle. The total volume of concrete used in making these pontoons was 8,410 cubic metres (11,000 cu yd). The two halves of the bridge were made of ten 40 metres (131 ft 6 in) pontoons, one 38-metre (124 ft 6 in) section, and one 42-metre (138 ft 6 in) section, joined in the middle by a 324 millimetres (12+3⁄4 in) vertical locking pin, which was saved when the bridge was demolished and is now on display outside the Royal Engineers Building in Hobart.
The total length of the roadway was 961 metres (3,154 ft). The total width of the bridge was 12 metres (40 ft 6 in). It had a two-lane roadway and a footpath on one side. At the western end a large lifting section was provided to allow ships to pass. It provided a vertical clearance of 44 metres (145 ft 6 in) at low tide, and the opening section was 55 metres (180 ft) wide. Four 450-kilowatt (600 hp) electric motors were used to open the bridge, which took two minutes. The total weight of steel used in the construction of the bridge was 3,150 tonnes (3,100 long tons).
The bridge received an Engineering Heritage National Marker from Engineers Australia as part of its Engineering Heritage Recognition Program. [1]
The River Derwent, also known as timtumili minanya in palawa kani, is a significant river and tidal estuary in Tasmania, Australia. It begins its journey as a freshwater river in the Central Highlands at Lake St Clair, descending over 700 metres (2,300 ft) across a distance of more than 200 kilometres (120 mi). At the settlement of New Norfolk in the Derwent Valley its waters become brackish, flowing through Hobart, the capital city of Tasmania, its seawater estuary eventually empties into Storm Bay and the Tasman Sea.
A pontoon bridge, also known as a floating bridge, uses floats or shallow-draft boats to support a continuous deck for pedestrian and vehicle travel. The buoyancy of the supports limits the maximum load that they can carry.
Gladesville Bridge is a heritage-listed concrete arch road bridge that carries Victoria Road over the Parramatta River, linking the Sydney suburbs of Huntleys Point and Drummoyne, in the local government areas of Canada Bay and Hunter's Hill, in New South Wales, Australia. Despite its name, the bridge is not in Gladesville.
The Tasman Bridge is a prestressed concrete girder bridge connecting the Tasman Highway over the River Derwent in Hobart, Tasmania, Australia. When it opened on 29 March 1965, the Tasman was the longest prestressed concrete bridge in Australia, with a total length measuring 1,396 metres (4,580 ft), including approaches. The bridge provides a vital link between Hobart's city centre on the western shore and the City of Clarence on the eastern shore. Averaging 73,029 vehicle crossings per day, the bridge is the highest volume road section in Tasmania. It features five lanes of traffic including a central lane equipped for tidal flow operations and separated shared-use walkways on both sides, with ramp upgrades for improved access and cyclists completed in 2010.
Clarence City Council is a local government body in Tasmania, and one of the five municipalities that constitutes the Greater Hobart Area. The Clarence local government area has a population of 61,531, covering the eastern shore of the Derwent River from Otago to the South Arm Peninsula and the smaller localities of Cambridge, Richmond, and Seven Mile Beach.
The Brooker Highway is a highway in the Australian state of Tasmania. As one of Hobart's three major radials, the highway connects traffic from the city centre with the northern suburbs and is the major road connection to the cities and towns of northern Tasmania. With an annual average daily traffic of 48,000, the highway is one of the busiest in Tasmania. The Brooker Highway has recently been declared part of the National Highway.
The Tasman Highway is a highway in Tasmania, Australia. Like the Midland Highway, it connects the major cities of Hobart and Launceston – however it takes a different route, via the north-eastern and eastern coasts of the state. The Highway also acts as a major commuter road to Hobart residents living on the eastern side of the Derwent River. The designation "Tasman Highway" arises from its location facing the Tasman Sea – named, like the state itself, after Abel Tasman. The highway is one of the longest in Tasmania – 410 km (250 mi), with an average travelling time of 41⁄2 hours.
The Hood Canal Bridge is a floating bridge in the northwest United States, located in western Washington. It carries State Route 104 across Hood Canal in Puget Sound and connects the Olympic and Kitsap Peninsulas. At 7,869 feet in length, it is the longest floating bridge in the world located in a saltwater tidal basin, and the third longest floating bridge overall. It opened in 1961 and was the second concrete floating bridge constructed in Washington. Since that time, it has become a vital link for local residents, freight haulers, commuters, and recreational travelers. The convenience it provides has had a major impact on economic development, especially in eastern Jefferson County.
The Bowen Bridge is a segmental cantilever road bridge crossing the River Derwent in Tasmania, Australia. The bridge serves as a vital transportation link in the state capital of Hobart, facilitating the movement of vehicles, pedestrians, and cyclists between the local government areas of Clarence on the eastern shore and Glenorchy on the western shore. The Bowen Bridge links the East Derwent Highway with the Brooker Highway at Glenorchy, approximately 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) from the Hobart city centre.
Montagu Bay is a suburb of Hobart, Tasmania, located in the City of Clarence on the eastern shore of the Derwent River, about four kilometres from the city centre of greater Hobart. It is a small primarily residential suburb located between Rosny, Rose Bay and Lindisfarne and is centred on a small bay of the same name, formerly known as Smelting Works Bay. The bay has a boat ramp and jetty, and is frequently filled with yachts and other vessels at anchor.
The Howrah Bridge is a balanced steel bridge over the Hooghly River in West Bengal, India. Commissioned in 1943, the bridge was originally named the New Howrah Bridge, because it replaced a pontoon bridge at the same location linking the twin cities of Howrah and Kolkata, which are located at the opposite banks of each other. On 14 June 1965, it was renamed Rabindra Setu after the Bengali poet Rabindranath Tagore, who was the first Indian and Asian Nobel laureate. It is still popularly known as the Howrah Bridge.
The Bridgewater Bridge is a combined road and rail bridge that carries the Midland Highway and South Railway Line across the Derwent River in Hobart, Tasmania, Australia. This steel truss vertical lift bridge and specially-built causeway connect the Hobart suburbs of Bridgewater and Granton. The bridge was completed in 1946 and accommodates a two-lane highway, a single track railway and a grade-separated footpath.
The Nordhordland Bridge is a combined cable-stayed and pontoon bridge which crosses Salhusfjorden between Klauvaneset and the island of Flatøy in Vestland county, Norway. It is 1,614 meters (5,295 ft) long, of which the pontoon section is 1,246 meters (4,088 ft) long. The cable-stayed section consists of a single 99-meter (325 ft) tall H-pylon which has a length of 368 meters (1,207 ft) and a main span of 172 meters (564 ft). This allows for a clearance of 32 meters (105 ft).
The Bergsøysund Bridge is a pontoon bridge that crosses the Bergsøysundet strait between the islands of Aspøya and Bergsøya in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. The bridge is 931 metres (3,054 ft) long, the longest span is 106 metres (348 ft), and the maximum clearance to the sea is 6 metres (20 ft). The bridge has 13 spans.
The Tasman Bridge disaster occurred on the evening of 5 January 1975, in Hobart, the capital city of Australia's island state of Tasmania, when the bulk carrier Lake Illawarra, travelling up the Derwent River, collided with several pylons of the Tasman Bridge and caused a large section of the bridge deck to collapse onto the ship and into the river below. Twelve people were killed, including seven crew on board Lake Illawarra, and the five occupants of four cars which fell 45 metres (150 ft) after driving off the bridge. Hobart was cut off from its eastern suburbs, and the loss of the road connection had a major social impact. The ship's master was officially penalised for inattention and failure to handle his vessel in a seamanlike manner.
Centralbron is a major bridge in central Stockholm, Sweden, connecting the northern district Norrmalm to the southern Södermalm.
The Spit Bridge, a steel and concrete girder bridge with a bascule lift span across the Middle Harbour, is located 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) north-east of the central business district in Sydney, Australia. The bridge carries The Spit Road (A8) from a point called The Spit, and connects the suburbs of Mosman, on the south bank and Seaforth, on the north bank.
SS Lake Illawarra was a handysize bulk carrier of 7,274 tons in the service of the Australian National Line. This ship is known for causing the Tasman Bridge disaster when she collided with pylon 19 of Hobart's giant high concrete arch style Tasman Bridge on the evening of 5 January 1975 at 9.27 pm, resulting in the deaths of 12 people.
The South Arm Highway is a highway serving the southern suburbs of Hobart, on the eastern shore of the River Derwent in Tasmania, Australia. The highway is a major trunk road that carries heavy commuter traffic south from the Eastern Outlet to Howrah and Rokeby. As one of the Tasman Highway's principle Feeders and one of the eastern shore's major transport corridors, The South Arm Highway facilitates the movement of traffic between the suburbs and satellite communities to the south with the city centre and ultimately, other major cross city highways. With annual average daily traffic (AADT) of 17,000, the highway is considered a major traffic corridor within Hobart. The designation "South Arm Highway" arises from its journey south to South Arm.