The Hexham Bridge is a pair of

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 ...

s that carry the Pacific Highway across the

Hunter River Hunter River may refer to: *Hunter River (New South Wales), Australia *Hunter River (Western Australia) *Hunter River, New Zealand *Hunter River (Prince Edward Island), Canada **Hunter River, Prince Edward Island, community on Hunter River, Canada ...

from

Tarro Tarro is a north-western suburb of the Newcastle City Council local government area in the Hunter Region of New South Wales, Australia. It, and parts of nearby Beresfield, was originally known as Upper Hexham, "lower" Hexham being an older set ...

Tomago Tomago is a combined industrial/semi-rural suburb of the Port Stephens local government area in the Hunter Region of New South Wales, Australia. It is located just north of the Hunter River and west of the body of water known as Fullerton Cove. ...

in the

Hunter Region The Hunter Region, also commonly known as the Hunter Valley, is a region of New South Wales, Australia, extending from approximately to north of Sydney. It contains the Hunter River and its tributaries with highland areas to the north and so ...

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 comprises two separate structures; a

steel Steel is an alloy made up of iron with added carbon to improve its strength and fracture resistance compared to other forms of iron. Many other elements may be present or added. Stainless steels that are corrosion- and oxidation-resistant ty ...

truss bridge 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 ...

opened in 1952 and a concrete opened in 1987.

History

Prior to the construction of the bridge, the Department of Main Roads operated a car ferry to carry the Pacific Highway across the

. In November 1945, a contract was awarded to build a

with a central lifting span. However, due to a shortage of materials following

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, it was not completed until December 1952. A concrete high-level fixed bridge opened to the west of the original bridge in July 1987 to carry northbound traffic, with the original converted to carry southbound traffic only.Annual report year ended 30 June 1988 Department of Main Roads page 19

References

External links

{{Road infrastructure in regional New South Wales, state=collapsed Bridges completed in 1952 Concrete bridges in Australia Hunter River (New South Wales) Road bridges in New South Wales Steel bridges in Australia Vertical lift bridges in Australia 1952 establishments in Australia