Nowra Bridge

Last updated

Nowra Bridge
Nowra Bridge.jpg
Nowra Bridge
Coordinates 34°51′51″S150°36′07″E / 34.86417°S 150.60194°E / -34.86417; 150.60194
Carries Princes Highway AUS Alphanumeric Route A1.svg
Crosses Shoalhaven River
Locale Nowra, New South Wales, Australia
Begins North Nowra (north)
EndsNowra (south)
Owner Transport for NSW
Characteristics
Design Truss bridge
MaterialSteel
Total length309 metres (1,013 ft)
No. of lanes 2
History
DesignerCharles Shaler Smith
Fabrication byEdge Moor Iron Company
Construction end1881
Replaced byConcrete bridge
(concurrent use; northbound)
Statistics
Daily traffic 51,000 (August 2019)
New South Wales Heritage Database
(Local Government Register)
Official nameNowra Bridge over the Shoalhaven River
TypeLocal heritage (built)
TypeRoad Bridge
CategoryTransport – Land
BuildersEdge Moor Iron Co.
Location
Nowra Bridge
References
[1]

The Nowra Bridge is a road bridge that carries the Princes Highway over the Shoalhaven River, at Nowra, New South Wales, Australia. The bridge joins the main area of Nowra to North Nowra and Bomaderry.

Contents

Description

The bridge was originally intended to carry a double railway track, as part of the proposed extension of the Illawarra railway line to Jervis Bay and possibly Eden. Due to material shortages during the First World War, the railway was never extended past Bomaderry station where trains still terminate today, so the bridge was converted for road traffic, as the residents of Nowra wanted a road bridge that connected Bomaderry to Nowra. [2]

The bridge was designed by American engineer Charles Shaler Smith and is considered to be of local historical significance. [1] The bridge was completed in 1881 and is built from wrought iron with a steel approach span. The bridge had a timber deck for 100 years until in 1981 reinforced concrete was laid over steel Armco decking. The pairs of cast iron piers are original and were supplied locally by the Atlas Foundry, Sydney. It was the largest bridge project in New South Wales prior to the 1889 Hawkesbury River Railway Bridge. Its full length is 342 metres (1,122 ft). [1]

Second bridge

In December 1981, a three lane concrete bridge opened to the west of the original bridge. It carried northbound traffic with the original bridge reconfigured to carry southbound traffic. [3] [4]

Third bridge

In August 2019 Infrastructure Australia approved the construction of a new four-lane bridge immediately to the west of the existing bridges. The new bridge will become the new crossing for northbound traffic. The existing northbound bridge will be converted for southbound traffic, allowing the bridge built in 1881 to be re-purposed as a pedestrian and cycle bridge. [5] Funding to be shared between the Federal and New South Wales governments. [6] Fulton Hogan commenced work in early 2020 and is expected to be completed in 2024. [7] [8] In February 2023 the new bridge opened, initially carrying traffic in both directions while the 1981 built bridge is refurbished. [9]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">City of Shoalhaven</span> Local government in New South Wales, Australia

The City of Shoalhaven is a local government area in the South Coast region of New South Wales, Australia. The area is about 200 kilometres (120 mi) south of Sydney. The Princes Highway passes through the area, and the South Coast railway line traverses the northern section, terminating at Bomaderry. At the 2021 census, the population was 108,531.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gladesville Bridge</span> Bridge in Sydney, Australia

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Princes Highway</span> Highway in Australia

Princes Highway is a major road in Australia, extending from Sydney via Melbourne to Adelaide through the states of New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia. It has a length of 1,941 kilometres (1,206 mi) or 1,898 kilometres (1,179 mi) via the former alignments of the highway, although these routes are slower and connections to the bypassed sections of the original route are poor in many cases.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nowra</span> Town in New South Wales, Australia

Nowra is a city in the South Coast region of New South Wales, Australia. It is located 160 kilometres (99 mi) south-southwest of the state capital of Sydney. As of the 2021 census, Nowra has an estimated population of 22,584. Situated in the southern reaches of the Sydney basin, Nowra is the seat and commercial centre of the City of Shoalhaven.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bomaderry, New South Wales</span> Suburb of Shoalhaven, New South Wales, Australia

Bomaderry is a suburb in the City of Shoalhaven local government area in New South Wales, Australia. At the 2021 census, it had a population of 8,718 people. It is on the north shore of the Shoalhaven River, across the river from Nowra, the major town of the City of Shoalhaven, of which Bomaderry is locally regarded as being a suburb of the city.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shoalhaven River</span> River in Australia

The Shoalhaven River is a perennial river that rises from the Southern Tablelands and flows into an open mature wave dominated barrier estuary near Nowra on the South Coast of New South Wales, Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ryde Bridge</span> Bridges across the Parramatta River in Sydney, Australia

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 Ryde in the northern suburbs of Sydney to Rhodes in Sydney's inner west, in New South Wales, Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bomaderry railway station</span> Railway station in New South Wales, Australia

Bomaderry railway station is a heritage-listed single-platform intercity train station located in Bomaderry, New South Wales, Australia, on the South Coast railway line. The station serves NSW TrainLink diesel multiple unit trains to Kiama. Early morning and late night services to the station are provided by train replacement bus services. A siding near the station is used by freight trains operated by the Manildra Group.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hampden Bridge, Kangaroo Valley</span> Bridge in New South Wales, Australia

Hampden Bridge is a heritage-listed single-span suspension bridge that carries Moss Vale Road (B73) across the Kangaroo River, in Kangaroo Valley, in the City of Shoalhaven local government area of New South Wales, Australia. The bridge was designed by Ernest de Burgh and built by Loveridge and Hudson. The property is owned by Transport for NSW. It was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 2 August 2019.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Warringah Freeway</span> Freeway in Sydney, Australia

The Warringah Freeway is a 3-kilometre (1.9 mi) divided freeway in Sydney, New South Wales that is part of the Sydney Orbital Network and the Highway 1. The primary function of the freeway is to provide an alternative high-grade route from the Sydney Harbour Tunnel and the Bradfield Highway at Milsons Point to the A8 and the Gore Hill Freeway. The freeway reduces traffic demands on the Pacific Highway throughout Sydney's Lower North Shore, bypassing North Sydney and Crows Nest. Completed in a series of stages between June 1968 and August 1992, the Warringah Freeway provides a vital link to access most of the suburbs in Sydney and is also a major route to the north, south, east and west of the central business district.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">South Coast (New South Wales)</span> Region in New South Wales, Australia

The South Coast refers to the narrow coastal belt from Shoalhaven district in the north to the border with Victoria in the south in the south-eastern part of the State of New South Wales, Australia. It is bordered to the west by the coastal escarpment of the Southern Tablelands, and is largely covered by a series of national parks, namely Jervis Bay National Park, Eurobodalla National Park, and Beowa National Park. To the east is the coastline of the Pacific Ocean, which is characterised by rolling farmlands, small towns and villages along a rocky coastline, interspersed by numerous beaches and lakes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tom Uglys Bridge</span> Australian road bridge

Tom Uglys Bridge are two road bridges, completed in 1929 and 1987, that carry the Princes Highway across the Georges River in southern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. The bridges link the St George area at Blakehurst to the Sutherland Shire at Sylvania. Tom Uglys Bridge is one of six major road crossings of Georges River.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alfords Point Bridge</span> Bridge in New South Wales, Australia

Alfords Point Bridge is a twin 445-metre-long (1,460 ft) concrete and steel box girder road bridge that carries Alford Point Road as state route A6 across the lower Georges River between Padstow Heights in the City of Canterbury-Bankstown and Alfords Point in the Sutherland Shire in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fullers Bridge</span> Road bridge in suburban Sydney, Australia

Fullers Bridge, officially called the Fullers Creek Bridge, is a road bridge that carries Delhi Road to Millwood Avenue across the Lane Cove River, in Chatswood West, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The concrete beam bridge is located 9 kilometres (5.6 mi) northwest of the Sydney central business district and connects Chatswood to North Ryde as part of the A38.

The Dennis Bridge is a steel truss road bridge that carries Hastings River Drive across the Hastings River, near Port Macquarie, New South Wales, Australia. The bridge carried the Pacific Highway from December 1961 until November 2017, when it was replaced by the (new) Hastings River Bridge, a concrete road bridge. The Dennis Bridge is managed by the Port Macquarie-Hastings Council.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">North–South Motorway</span> Motorway in Adelaide, South Australia

The North–South Motorway is a partially complete motorway traversing the inner western suburbs of Adelaide, from Waterloo Corner in the north to Bedford Park in the south. Progressively constructed in stages since 2010, once complete it will replace the adjacent South Road as Adelaide's main north–south roadway. It will form the central section of the North–South Corridor, being flanked north and south by the Northern Expressway and Southern Expressway, respectively. It is designated part of route M2.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brooklyn Bridge, New South Wales</span> Bridge in New South Wales, Australia

The Brooklyn Bridge is a local nickname for the Hawkesbury River Road Bridge, a concrete girder bridge that carries the Pacific Motorway (M1) across the Hawkesbury River between Kangaroo Point to Mooney Mooney Point, located 35 kilometres (22 mi) north of Sydney in New South Wales, Australia. The bridge comprises a dual carriageway with three lanes in each direction of motorway grade-separated conditions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Long Cove Creek railway viaducts, Lewisham</span> Bridge in New South Wales, Australia

The Long Cove Creek railway viaducts are heritage-listed railway viaducts which carry the Main Suburban railway line over Long Cove Creek between the suburbs of Lewisham and Summer Hill in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The viaducts were designed and built by the New South Wales Government Railways. The property is owned by Transport Asset Holding Entity, an agency of the Government of New South Wales. It was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 2 April 1999.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Long Gully Bridge</span> Bridge across Flat Rock Creek in Sydney, Australia

The Long Gully Bridge, also known as Northbridge, Suspension Bridge, and Cammeray Bridge, is a concrete arch road bridge that carries Strathallen Avenue across Flat Rock Creek and Tunks Park, and connects the suburbs of Cammeray, in the North Sydney Council local government area to its south, with Northbridge in the City of Willoughby local government area to its north, in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sheahan Bridge</span> Bridge in Gundagai, New South Wales

Sheahan Bridge is a dual carriageway bridge over the Murrumbidgee River on the Hume Highway in Gundagai, New South Wales. It is the third longest bridge in New South Wales after the Macleay Valley Bridge and Sydney Harbour Bridge, which at 1.149 km (0.714 mi) is only slightly longer than the Sheahan Bridge's 1.141 km (0.709 mi).

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Nowra Bridge over the Shoalhaven River". New South Wales Heritage Database. Office of Environment & Heritage . Retrieved 8 April 2020.
  2. Nowra Bridge EHA Magazine January 2020 pages 6-12
  3. Two new routes on the South Coast Main Roads December 1981 page 125
  4. "Piling begins for new Nowra Bridge". Roads & Maritime Services. 25 November 2020. Retrieved 2 November 2020.
  5. "Nowra Bridge". Infrastructure Australia . Australian Government. 23 August 2019. Retrieved 7 April 2020.
  6. "New Nowra Bridge". Infrastructure Partnerships Australia. 28 February 2020. Retrieved 7 April 2020.
  7. Nowra Bridge project Transport for NSW
  8. Contract awarded for new Nowra Bridge Transport for NSW 12 February 2020
  9. New Nowra bridge opens, but locals doubt it's the key to easing South Coast holiday gridlock ABC News 24 February 2023

Commons-logo.svg Media related to Nowra Bridge at Wikimedia Commons