Grafton Bridge, Clarence River, NSW, Australia
S 29° 41.870 E 152° 56.527
56J E 494400 N 6714695
Built in 1932 to connect the railway line from the south, to the north, this steel truss bridge combines with a road bridge to link Grafton, and South Grafton.
Waymark Code: WMV9KP
Location: New South Wales, Australia
Date Posted: 03/19/2017
Views: 1
In 1915 the Grafton town folk decided on the need for a bridge to connect the railway line from the south, to the Queensland border. As motorised vehicles seemed to be the way of the future the initial plans of having just a rail bridge built were put aside, and new plans drawn up by Dorman Long so that the bridge would be rather unique for Australia, in having the potential for dual rail lines on the lower deck, and two lanes of vehicular traffic on the upper deck of this truss bridge. As commercial steamers were still a major part of transport and commercial, it was designed as a bascule bridge, with a span being able to be lifted up as a drawbridge - opening both the railway line, and vehicle decks, to allow ships through. Pedestrian footpaths were attached beside the railway line on the lower deck of the bridge.
There are eight (8) truss spans supported by seven concrete piers bedded in the Clarence river.
Building was commenced in 1922, and finished ten years later, being opened on 19 July, 1932, by the Governor General Sit Isaac Isaacs. Wikipedia reports that it was built right on a budget of £500,000.
The bascule section of the bridge, that raised both decks, was decommissioned when the amount of river traffic was deemed insufficient to maintain it. And a water mains was put in on the railway deck to give consistent supply to Grafton.
BTW: There is a Geocache at the northern end of the bridge by Magpyre: (
visit link)
A good place to view the bridge is from a reserve on the western side of the bridge, at S29° 41.765' E152° 56.270', near the corner of Clarence and Victoria Streets.
Visited: 'Boxing Day', 26 December, 2015