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The Ryde Bridge(s), also called the Uhrs Point Bridge, are two
road bridges 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 carry Concord Road, part of the A3, across Parramatta River from in the
northern suburbs Northern Sydney is a large metropolitan area in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia on the north shore of Sydney Harbour and Parramatta River. The region embraces suburbs in Sydney’s north-east, north and inner north west. Northern Sydney ...
of
Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...
to in Sydney's inner west, in New South Wales, Australia. The two bridges comprise a heritage-listed
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 ...
Pratt truss bridge with inoperable lift span that carries three lanes of northbound vehicular traffic plus a
grade-separated In civil engineering (more specifically highway engineering), grade separation is a method of aligning a junction of two or more surface transport axes at different heights (grades) so that they will not disrupt the traffic flow on other tran ...
pedestrian A pedestrian is a person traveling on foot, whether walking or running. In modern times, the term usually refers to someone walking on a road or pavement, but this was not the case historically. The meaning of pedestrian is displayed with ...
footpath, completed in 1935; and a reinforced concrete fixed-span bridge that carries three lanes of southbound vehicular traffic, completed in 1988.


History

A proposal for the construction of a bridge in lieu of a ferry over the Parramatta River, between Meadowbank and Rhodes, was first submitted to the Minister for Public Works in 1913. Owing to funds being unavailable for the purpose, no action was taken until 1920. In July 1924, the Minister for Public Works announced in Parliament that he was prepared to introduce a bill to give the involved councils the power to build the bridge. A site investigation followed, and its results was transferred to the Main Roads Board in July 1928. The original Ryde Bridge was opened on 7 December 1935 by the
Premier Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier. A premier will normally be a head of governm ...
Bertram Stevens, accompanied by the Mayor of Ryde. The original bridge is a lift bridge, which was required to allow shipping to pass to the State Timber Yard then located on the southern bank of the Parramatta River, just west of the bridge. However the lifting mechanism was removed in the late 20th century and it has not been opened since. The bridge was paid for by the Ryde Council with the assistance of a grant from the New South Wales Government. The bridge carried a toll for 13 years until the bridge was paid for. In 1948, ownership of the bridge was transferred to the NSW Department of Main Roads. A new bridge was built on the eastern or downstream side using steel trough girders, closed on top by a composite concrete running deck, and completed in 1987. The second bridge carries southbound traffic, with the original bridge carrying northbound traffic only. It was officially opened on 25 November 1988 by the Premier
Nick Greiner Nicholas Frank Hugo Greiner (;) (born 27 April 1947) is an Australian politician who served as the 37th Premier of New South Wales from 1988 to 1992. Greiner was Leader of the New South Wales Division of the Liberal Party from 1983 to 1992 an ...
and Federal Minister For Transport Ralph Willis. Before the original bridge was constructed, the Parramatta River was crossed in this area by a vehicular punt, just downstream of the railway bridge. The southern ramp still exists near the southern end of the railway bridge, however the northern ramp has been covered over by
Meadowbank ferry wharf Meadowbank ferry wharf is located on the northern side of the Parramatta River serving the Sydney suburb of Meadowbank. History Prior to the construction of the Ryde Bridge in the 1930s, Ryde wharf, located to the east of Meadowbank wharf at ...
.


Heritage significance


Other

The Hexham Bridge, located northeast of Sydney and which spans the Hunter River is very similar to 1935 Pratt truss Ryde Bridge.


See also

* List of bridges in Sydney


References


External links

* {{Geography of Parramatta River Bridges in Sydney Bridges completed in 1935 Vertical lift bridges in Australia Road bridges in New South Wales 1935 establishments in Australia Bridges completed in 1987 1987 establishments in Australia Former toll bridges in Australia Ryde, New South Wales Parramatta River Pratt truss bridges Steel bridges in Australia Concrete bridges in Australia Truss bridges in Australia