Crankies Plain Bridge is a heritage-listed

road bridge A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somethi ...

that carries Main Road across the

Coolumbooka River The Coolumbooka River, a perennial river of the Snowy River catchment, is located in the Monaro region of New South Wales, Australia. Course and features The Coolumbooka River is formed by the confluence of the Badgerys Creek and the Horseys ...

Bombala Bombala is a town in the Monaro region of south-eastern New South Wales, Australia, in Snowy Monaro Regional Council. It is approximately south of the state capital, Sydney, and south of the town of Cooma. The name derives from an Aborigina ...

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

, Australia. It was designed by John McDonald and built in 1892 by the

New South Wales Public Works Department NSW Public Works (or New South Wales Public Works), an agency of the Government of New South Wales, was responsible for providing expert advice to government and professional services to government agency clients in New South Wales, Australia. T ...

. The bridge is owned by

Transport for NSW Transport for NSW, sometimes abbreviated to TfNSW, and pronounced as Transport for New South Wales, is an agency of the New South Wales Government established on 1 November 2011, and is the leading transport and roads agency in New South Wales, ...

. It was added to the

New South Wales State Heritage Register The New South Wales State Heritage Register, also known as NSW State Heritage Register, is a heritage list of places in the state of New South Wales, Australia, that are protected by New South Wales legislation, generally covered by the Heritag ...

on 20 June 2000.

History

State transport and public works records indicate that it was built in 1892 for a cost of

A£ The pound (Sign: £, £A for distinction) was the currency of Australia from 1910 until 14 February 1966, when it was replaced by the Australian dollar. As with other £sd currencies, it was subdivided into 20 shillings (denoted by the symbol s ...

2,964.

Description

The bridge consists of two

truss A truss is an assembly of ''members'' such as beams, connected by ''nodes'', that creates a rigid structure. In engineering, a truss is a structure that "consists of two-force members only, where the members are organized so that the assembl ...

spans flanked by two timber girder spans at each end (one and one span at each end). All are supported by timber

piers Piers may refer to: * Pier, a raised structure over a body of water * Pier (architecture), an architectural support * Piers (name), a given name and surname (including lists of people with the name) * Piers baronets, two titles, in the baronetages ...

with piles driven into rock. The bridge width is between kerbs at its narrowest. It was reported to be in generally fair to good condition as at 13 September 2005, with maintenance by Roads and Maritime Services as it is a functioning road bridge.

Heritage listing

This bridge is a McDonald timber truss road bridge. Timber truss road bridges were extensively used in New South Wales because of the high quality of local hardwoods and the shortage of steel during the early decades of settlement of the state. The timber truss was highly developed for bridges in New South Wales, perhaps more so than anywhere else in the world at that time. The McDonald truss is a significant evolutionary link in the development of timber road bridges in New South Wales and has three standard span lengths, , , and . At March 1998 there were seven McDonald truss road bridges remaining in New South Wales, this bridge being a representative example. The bridge has been assessed as having State Significance. Crankies Plain Bridge was listed on the

on 20 June 2000 having satisfied the following criteria. The place is important in demonstrating the course, or pattern, of cultural or natural history in New South Wales. McDonald truss bridges have historical significance because timber truss bridges were developed and refined in Australia to achieve the highest level of timber bridge construction for the time of their design and the McDonald truss is an important recognisable design in the evolution of timber truss bridges in NSW. The place is important in demonstrating aesthetic characteristics and/or a high degree of creative or technical achievement in New South Wales. McDonald truss bridges have aesthetic significance because they are evocative of Australian methods of bridge construction, in their materials, scale and configuration they reflect and express nineteenth century technologies and experiences and for the time of their design and construction they demonstrate the best quality design available. The place has strong or special association with a particular community or cultural group in New South Wales for social, cultural or spiritual reasons. McDonald truss bridges have social significance because their size and location contribute directly to the local area and they are a strong element in the local address.

References

Bibliography

* * *

Attribution