The Paringa Bridge carries the Sturt Highway across the Murray River in Paringa, South Australia. Until 1982, it also carried the Barmera railway line.
Paringa Bridge | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Coordinates | 34°11′S 140°47′E / 34.18°S 140.78°E |
| Carries | Barmera railway line (until 1982) Sturt Highway |
| Crosses | Murray River |
| Locale | Paringa, South Australia |
| Maintained by | Department of Planning, Transport & Infrastructure |
| Characteristics | |
| Design | Vertical-lift |
| Total length | 173 metres |
| History | |
| Opened | 31 January 1927 |
| Closed | 7 March 1984 (rail only) |
| Location | |
 | |
The bridge consists of a vertical-lift span 78 feet (24 m) long which can rise 30 feet (9.1 m) in one and a half minutes. There are three Pratt truss spans of 112.5 feet (34.3 m), and a plate girder span at each end.[1] It was designed by the South Australian Railways (SAR) and fabricated by Perry Engineering of Adelaide. It opened on 31 January 1927.[2][3] It was built as a road-rail bridge with both the Sturt Highway and Barmera railway lines using the same reservation.[4] Maintenance cost were shared equally between the SAR and Highways department.[5]
Subsequently, road lanes were added on either side to segregate the road and rail traffic.[4] The last train crossed the bridge on 21 May 1982 with the line beyond Renmark formally closed on 7 March 1984.[6] The railway tracks were removed in 1986 and the centre reservation converted to a shared pedestrian and cycle path.[7]
The vertical-lift span is opened twice a day for river traffic.[8]
The bridge was listed as a State Heritage Place on the South Australian Heritage Register on 29 June 1989.[4]
References edit
- ^ "Paringa, SA". Aussie Towns. Paringa Suspension Bridge. Retrieved 19 January 2020.
- ^ The Paringa Bridge Adelaide Advertiser 31 January 1927 page 8
- ^ "Renmark's Great Day" South Australian Register 1 February 1927 page 9
- ^ a b c Paringa Bridge South Australia Heritage Places
- ^ Road-Rail Bridge at Paringa Keeping Track issue 71 April 1974 page 1
- ^ "Here & There" Australian Railway Historical Society Bulletin issue 561 July 1984 page 63
- ^ "The Paringa Lift Span Bridge" Australian Railway Historical Society Bulletin issue 726 April 1998 pages 139-142
- ^ Paringa Bridge lifting span operational again for River Murray traffic Department of Planning, Transport & Infrastructure 30 May 2015
External links edit
Media related to Paringa Bridge at Wikimedia Commons