The Gee Gee Bridge was 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 carried Noorong Road across the

Wakool River Wakool River, an anabranch of the Edward River that is part of the Murray River catchment within the Murray–Darling basin, is located in the western Riverina region of south western New South Wales, Australia. The Wakool River splits from t ...

, connecting Cunninyeuk with Wetuppa in

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. The bridge was designed by Harvey Dare and opened in 1929. Owned by the

Murray River Council The Murray River Council is a local government area in the Riverina region of New South Wales, Australia. This area was formed in 2016 from the merger of Murray Shire with Wakool Shire. The combined area comprises and covers the northern bank ...

it was replaced by a concrete structure in May 2020 and demolished.

History

Timber truss road bridges have played a significant role in the expansion and improvement of the NSW road network. Prior to the bridges being built, river crossings were often dangerous in times of rain, which caused bulk freight movement to be prohibitively expensive for most agricultural and mining produce. Only the high priced wool clip of the time was able to carry the costs and inconvenience imposed by the generally inadequate river crossings that often existed prior to the trusses construction. Timber truss bridges were preferred by the

Public Works Department This list indicates government departments in various countries dedicated to public works or infrastructure. See also * Public works * Ministry or Board of Public Works, the imperial Chinese ministry overseeing public projects from the Tang ...

from the mid 19th to the early 20th century because they were relatively cheap to construct, and used mostly local materials. The financially troubled governments of the day applied pressure to the Public Works Department to produce as much road and bridge work for as little cost as possible, using local materials. This condition effectively prohibited the use of iron and steel, as these, prior to the construction of the

BHP BHP Group Limited (formerly known as BHP Billiton) is an Australian multinational mining, metals, natural gas petroleum public company that is headquartered in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The Broken Hill Proprietary Company was founded ...

steel works at

Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area in Australia, named after Newcastle ...

in the early 20th century, had to be imported from England. Harvey Dare, the designer of Dare truss and other bridges, was a leading engineer in the Public Works Department, and a prominent figure in early 20th century NSW. Timber truss bridges, and timber bridges generally were so common that NSW was known to travellers as the "timber bridge state". The 1929 bridge was replaced under the

Roads & Maritime Services A road is a linear way for the conveyance of traffic that mostly has an improved surface for use by vehicles (motorized and non-motorized) and pedestrians. Unlike streets, the main function of roads is transportation. There are many types of ...

Timber Truss Bridge Strategy. The old bridge was demolished as part of the replacement. Work commenced in September 2018 with the new bridge opened in May 2020. The original bridge was subsequently demolished.Replacement of Gee Gee Bridge
Transport for NSW

Description

Gee Gee Bridge was a Dare-type timber

Allan truss A truss bridge is a bridge whose load-bearing superstructure is composed of a truss, a structure of connected elements, usually forming triangular units. The connected elements (typically straight) may be stressed from tension, compression, or ...

road bridge. It has a single timber truss span of . There are three timber approach spans at one end and two at the other giving the bridge an overall length of . The super structure was supported by timber trestles and provided a dual-lane carriage way with a minimum width of . A timber post and rail guard rail extended the full length of the bridge. In the 1990s strengthening of the timber trestles took place.

References

{{Road infrastructure in regional New South Wales New South Wales State Heritage Register Murray River Council Road bridges in New South Wales Articles incorporating text from the New South Wales State Heritage Register Bridges completed in 1929 Buildings and structures demolished in 2020 1929 establishments in Australia 2020 disestablishments in Australia Truss bridges in Australia Wooden bridges in Australia Bridges in the Riverina