The Spencer Street Bridge is a road and tram bridge over the

Yarra River The Yarra River or historically, the Yarra Yarra River, ( Kulin languages: ''Berrern'', ''Birr-arrung'', ''Bay-ray-rung'', ''Birarang'', ''Birrarung'', and ''Wongete'') is a perennial river in south-central Victoria, Australia. The lower s ...

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

, Australia. It connects

Spencer Street Spencer Street is a major street and thoroughfare in the central business district of Melbourne, Victoria. The street was gazetted in 1837 as the westernmost boundary of the Hoddle Grid. Spencer Street is named for John Spencer, 3rd Earl Spenc ...

on the north bank with Clarendon Street on the south. The idea of a bridge at this point was first put forward in the mid-1800s. The design of the bridge was a public competition won by Messrs. Edward Saunders and Alan Wilson, engineers, in conjunction with Messrs. Alfred R. La Gerche and W. E. Gower, architects., the competition result being announced in November 1925 The first pile was driven in October 1927. During construction engineers knew

deep foundation A deep foundation is a type of foundation that transfers building loads to the earth farther down from the surface than a shallow foundation does to a subsurface layer or a range of depths. A pile or piling is a vertical structural eleme ...

s would be required to find bedrock, but at 20 metres below sea level they struck a red gum stump that took three weeks work to remove. It was dated at about 8,000 years old and appears to have lived for well over 400 years. The cantilever girder type, with steel girder suspended span bridge was completed in 1930, with an adjacent glass and steel covered footbridge built alongside in 1998, as part of the

Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre The Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre, colloquially referred to as "Jeff's Shed," is a group of three adjacent buildings next to the Yarra River in South Wharf, an inner-city suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The venues are ow ...

Gallery

File:Spencer street footbridge.jpg, The parallel glass and steel footbridge File:Yarra River & Spencer Street Bridge.jpg, Yarra River & Spencer Street Bridge File:Spencer Street Bridge 1930 Plaque.jpg, Spencer Street Bridge 1930 Plaque

References

External links

Spencer Street Bridge
Victorian Heritage Database
SPENCER STREET BRIDGE CONSTRUCTION, 0.75 CUBIC YARD GRAB IN ACTION IN DEEP CYLINDERS MAY 1928
Photograph, PROVWiki
Arup: Spencer Street Footbridge, Melbourne, Australia
{{Yarra River Crossings Bridges in Melbourne Bridges over the Yarra River 1930 establishments in Australia Landmarks in Melbourne Buildings and structures in the City of Melbourne (LGA) Transport in the City of Melbourne (LGA) Bridges completed in 1930 Southbank, Victoria