The Bridgewater Bridge and Causeway is a vertical-lift bridge in Tasmania, Australia spanning the Derwent River with a specially built causeway connecting the bridge and the east bank of the river. It accommodates a two-lane highway and a single track railway. As the bridge is the major connector of the Midlands Highway on the eastern shore and the Brooker Highway on the western, the lifting of the bridge can cause considerable traffic delays, depending on the time of day and season. A log bridge A bridge is a structure built to span a gorge, valley, road, railroad track, river, body of water, or any other physical obstacle. ... Motto: Ubertas et Fidelitas (Fertility and Faithfulness) Nickname: The Apple Isle Other Australian states and territories Capital Hobart Government Governor Premier Const. ... The Derwent is a river in Tasmania, Australia. ... In modern usage, a causeway is a road elevated by a bank, usually across a broad body of water or wetland. ... Mitchell Freeway in Perth, Western Australia For other uses, see Highway (disambiguation). ...

History

The Bridgewater Bridge was one of the first bridges constructed in Tasmania following British settlement in 1804 and gave its name to the nearby suburb of Bridgewater, Hobart. Lieutenant-Governor George Arthur commissioned the construction of the bridge and causeway as part of the north-south Hobart-Launceston Trunk Road, linking both Tasmanian towns and providing easier access to farmlands in the interior of Tasmania. Bridgewater, Tasmania, Australia, is Hobarts northern-most suburb, located on the main north-south crossing of the Derwent River, 19km from the city. ... Hobart is the capital city of the Australian island state of Tasmania. ... Major General Sir George Arthur (1784-1854) was Lieutenant Governor of Upper Canada (March 23, 1838-1839?). Sir George Arthur, Baronet. ... Launceston City Council, Coat of Arms Launceston City Council, Tasmania Launceston is a small city in the north of Tasmania, Australia, population of approximately 98,000, located at the juncture of the North Esk, South Esk, and Tamar rivers. ... The Midlands in Tasmania refers to the relatively flat, dry agricultural area between Launceston and Hobart, so named because it covers most of the middle of these two cities. ...

Construction commenced on the bridge (originally only a causeway) in 1829. It was built by a workforce of 200 convicts who had been condemned to secondary punishment. These convicts, using nothing but wheelbarrows, shovels and picks and sheer muscle power, shifted 2 million tonnes of soil, stones and clay. The finished causeway stretched 1.3 km, although did not span the full width of the Derwent. It has been said that the original plan called for a viaduct, but this plan was abandoned and the half-built arches filled in to form the present causeway.

Upon completion of the causeway, a punt operated across the deep navigable section of the river, but it could not cope with the traffic offering and to alleviate the problem the first bridge across the Derwent at this point was opened in 1849. It was a swing bridge, which could be swung on a pivot out of the way when ships needed to get by. A swing bridge is a bridge that has its primary structural support at or near to its center, about which it can then pivot horizontally. ...

When the Launceston-Hobart Railway was built in the late 1870s, it was found necessary to widen the causeway to accommodate the railway, and the swing bridge was accordingly modifed as well. On 22 July 1886 a train from the north was just passing over the bridge when the engine left the tracks and as it passed over the southern end of the swing bridge, and tipped over, hanging precariously on the edge above the water. The fireman and driver were injured, but no-one was killed and the locomotive survived. The cause of the accident was found to be that the rails failed to match properly when the bridge was closed, and so the bridge was modified again to fix this problem. 22 July is the 203rd day (204th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 162 days remaining. ... 1886 is a common year starting on Friday (click on link to calendar) // Events January 18 - Modern field hockey is born with the formation of The Hockey Association in England. ...

This bridge lasted several decades but it was replaced by another swing bridge in the early 20th century.

These two swing bridges did not run straight off the end of the causeway, but rather, both swung to the right a little. The second swing bridge was left standing when the present lifting bridge was constructed to prevent stopppages to traffic, and so the present bruidge deviates from the causeway quite appreciably.

Construction on the present steel lift bridge across the Derwent began in 1939. It was briefly interrupted by World War II, but was finally completed in 1946. It consists of a long concrewe bridge that leads off the end of the causeway, then the steel lifting section just before the northern bank of the river. This bridge carries a two-lane roadway and the single-line railway, and is still in use today. World War II was a truly global conflict with many facets: immense human suffering, fierce indoctrination, and the use of new, extremely devastating weapons such as the atom bomb. ...

Until 1984 the Boyer Newsprint Mills near New Norfolk, upstream from Bridgewater, moved all its produce by river, and many dumb barges were used to transport paper from the mill to the storage sheds at Hobart, and for this reason the bridge was required to open very frequently. Until then a bridge keeper lived on site and opened and shut the bridge when required. However, when the decision was made to cease river transportation, it was found that an on-site keeper was no longer necessary, and though the bridge can and does still open, the openings are now much reduced.

The lifitng section is one of only a few remaining in the Southern Hemisphere, and is the largest of its kind remaining in Australia.

References

• Walkabout Australian Travel Guide