The George Chaffey Bridge is a

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 ...

in Australia that carries the

Sturt Highway Sturt Highway is an Australian national highway in New South Wales, Victoria, and South Australia. It is an important road link for the transport of passengers and freight between Sydney and Adelaide and the regions situated adjacent to the r ...

across the

Murray River The Murray River (in South Australia: River Murray) (Ngarrindjeri: ''Millewa'', Yorta Yorta: ''Tongala'') is a river in Southeastern Australia. It is Australia's longest river at extent. Its tributaries include five of the next six longest r ...

from Buronga to

Mildura Mildura is a regional city in north-west Victoria, Australia. Located on the Victorian side of the Murray River, Mildura had a population of 34,565 in 2021. When nearby Wentworth, Irymple, Nichols Point and Merbein are included, the area had ...

History

Old Mildura Bridge

The previous Mildura Bridge was opened on 22 October 1927. The design allowed for it to carry both road and railway traffic, but railway tracks were never laid. It was a lift-span bridge supported by concrete pylons, with two approach spans on each side. Two of the truss spans and the lift span are now in the Mildura Marina.

Current bridge

Named in honour of engineer

George Chaffey George Chaffey (28 January 1848 – 1 March 1932) was a Canadian–born engineer who with his brother William developed large parts of Southern California, including what became the community of Etiwanda and cities of Ontario, and Upland. They ...

, the current bridge opened on 12 March 1985, by the Federal

Minister of Transport A ministry of transport or transportation is a ministry responsible for transportation within a country. It usually is administered by the ''minister for transport''. The term is also sometimes applied to the departments or other government agen ...

the Hon. Peter Morris, the Minister for Roads (New South Wales) the Hon.

Laurie Brereton Laurence John "Laurie" Brereton (born 29 May 1946) is a former Australian politician who was a state minister, a federal member of cabinet, and kingmaker in the election of several Australian Labor Party leaders, including Paul Keating and Mark ...

, and the

(Victoria) the Hon. Steve Crabb. The project was funded under the Australian Bicentennial Road Development Programme, constructed at an estimated cost of $14 million. The nine-span, long and wide, prestressed concrete bridge was designed and constructed by the

Department of Main Roads (New South Wales) The Department of Main Roads (DMR) was an agency of the New South Wales Government, responsible for planning, constructing and maintaining major road infrastructure. The DMR directly managed highways and major roads and provided funding to local ...

. The Victorian approach is long, with a six-span, high-strength reinforced concrete I-beam floodway bridge, long. The New South Wales approach to the main bridge crossing is long, and includes three floodway bridges.Mildura '' Main Roads'' March 1984 page 18

References

External links

* {{Road infrastructure in regional New South Wales, state=collapsed Borders of New South Wales Borders of Victoria (state) Bridges in the Riverina Bridges completed in 1985 Concrete bridges in Australia Crossings of the Murray River Mildura Road bridges in New South Wales Road bridges in Victoria (state) Wentworth Shire 1985 establishments in Australia

History

Old Mildura Bridge

Current bridge

See also

References

External links