The Tasman Bridge is a bridge that carries the
Tasman Highway
The Tasman Highway (or A3) is a highway in Tasmania, Australia. Like the Midland Highway, it connects the major cities of Hobart and Launceston – however it takes a different route, via the north-eastern and eastern coasts of the state. The ...
over the
Derwent River in
Hobart,
Tasmania
)
, nickname =
, image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdi ...
, Australia. Including approaches, the bridge has a total length of and it provides the main traffic route from the
Hobart city centre (on the western shore) to the eastern shore. The bridge has a
separated pedestrian footway on each side. There is no dedicated lane for bicycles; however, steps to the pedestrian footway were replaced with ramps in 2010.
History
In the 1950s with the development of the Eastern shore, it was decided to build a larger bridge; the old
Hobart Bridge
The Hobart Bridge was a floating arch bridge that crossed the River Derwent, connecting the eastern and western shores of the city of Hobart, Tasmania, Australia.
History
Plans for a bridge to link the Derwent River’s two shores near Hoba ...
faced increasing difficulty in managing the larger volumes of traffic that came with development, and constantly raising the
lift span for shipping was disruptive. In November 1959
Reed & Mallik were awarded a contract to build the bridge.
Construction commenced in May 1960 and the first two lanes bridge opened on 18 August 1964. The other two lanes opened on 23 December 1964. It was officially opened on 18 March 1965 by
Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester
Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester, (Henry William Frederick Albert; 31 March 1900 – 10 June 1974) was the third son and fourth child of King George V and Queen Mary. He served as Governor-General of Australia from 1945 to 1947, the only memb ...
.
Disaster
On 5 January 1975, the Tasman Bridge was struck by the
bulk ore carrier ''
Lake Illawarra
Lake Illawarra ( Aboriginal Tharawal language: various adaptions of ''Elouera'', ''Eloura'', or ''Allowrie''; ''Illa'', ''Wurra'', or ''Warra'' meaning pleasant place near the sea, or, high place near the sea, or, white clay mountain), is an ope ...
'', bound for
EZ Industries
EZ Industries, formerly the Electrolytic Zinc Company, was a zinc miner and refiner in Australia.
History
EZ Industries was established in 1916 by Amalgamated Zinc as the Electrolytic Zinc Company to operate the Risdon Zinc Works on the banks ...
'
Risdon Zinc Works
Risdon Zinc Works (trading as Nyrstar Hobart) is a major zinc refinery located in Lutana, a suburb of Hobart, Tasmania, Australia. The smelter is one of the world’s largest in terms of production volume, producing over annually of high-grade ...
with a cargo of of
zinc concentrate
Zinc is a chemical element with the symbol Zn and atomic number 30. Zinc is a slightly brittle metal at room temperature and has a shiny-greyish appearance when oxidation is removed. It is the first element in group 12 (IIB) of the periodic ...
.
It caused two
pylons
Pylon may refer to:
Structures and boundaries
* Pylon (architecture), the gateway to the inner part of an Ancient Egyptian temple or Christian cathedral
* Pylon, a support tower structure for suspension bridges or highways
* Pylon, an orange mar ...
and three sections of concrete decking, totalling , to fall from the bridge and sink the ship. Seven of the ship's crew were killed, and five motorists died when four cars drove over the collapsed sections before the traffic was stopped. A major press shot showed a
Holden Monaro HQ and
Holden EK
The Holden EK series is a motor vehicle produced by Holden in Australia from 1961 to 1962.Norm Darwin, 100 Years of GM in Australia, 2002, pages 232-233 Introduced on 2 May 1961, the EK series was a facelifted version of the Holden FB, which it ...
perched balancing on the ledge.
The depth of the river at this point () is such that the wreck of ''Lake Illawarra'' still lies on the bottom, with concrete slab on top of it, without presenting a navigation hazard to smaller vessels.
The breakage of an important arterial link isolated the residents in Hobart's eastern suburbs – the relatively short drive across the Tasman Bridge to the city suddenly became a journey via
the estuary's next bridge at
Bridgewater. The only other vehicular crossing within Hobart after the bridge collapsed was the Risdon Punt, a
cable ferry
A cable ferry (including the terms chain ferry, swing ferry, floating bridge, or punt) is a ferry that is guided (and in many cases propelled) across a river or large body of water by cables connected to both shores. Early cable ferries often ...
which crossed the river from East Risdon and Risdon, some upstream from the bridge. It was totally inadequate, carrying only eight cars on each crossing, and although ferries provided a service across the Derwent River, it was not until December 1975 that a two lane,
bailey bridge
A Bailey bridge is a type of portable, pre-fabricated, truss bridge. It was developed in 1940–1941 by the British for military use during the Second World War and saw extensive use by British, Canadian and American military engineering units. ...
was opened to traffic, to the north from
Dowsing Point to Cleburne Point thereby restoring some connectivity. The bailey bridge remained in use until replaced by the
Bowen Bridge
The Bowen Bridge is a four-lane road bridge crossing the Derwent River in Tasmania, Australia.
Description
The bridge lies on the river about halfway between the Tasman Bridge and the Bridgewater Bridge. The bridge links the East Derwent Hi ...
in 1984.
The separation of Hobart saw an immediate surge in the small and limited ferry service then operating across the river.
[ In a primary position to provide a service were the two ferries of ]Bob Clifford
Robert "Bob" Frederick Clifford AO, (born in Tasmania, Australia), and now living in Surrey, England, is an Australian shipbuilder, entrepreneur, and businessman, best known for his success in building his Incat catamaran building company into ...
. He had introduced the locally-built ferries ''Matthew Brady'' and ''James McCabe'' to the river crossing, from the Hobart city centre to the eastern shore, shortly before the collision. These were soon joined by the ''Cartela'', a wooden vessel of 1912 vintage, and '' Kosciusko, Lady Ferguson'' and '' Lady Wakehurst'' that were loaned by the Public Transport Commission
The Public Transport Commission (PTC) was an agency of the Government of New South Wales responsible for the provision of rail, bus and ferry services in New South Wales, Australia from October 1972 until June 1980.
Upon dissolution, responsi ...
.
On 20 June 2007, a crane toppled whilst carrying out works on the bridge, and precariously hung for a number of hours off the side of the barriers.
Reconstruction
Reconstruction of the Tasman Bridge by John Holland commenced in October 1975. An important factor of the reconstruction is the improved safety measures. Some examples:
*Large vessels passing beneath the bridge must now do so slightly to the west of the original main navigation span.
*Personnel controlling ships (or harbor pilot
A maritime pilot, marine pilot, harbor pilot, port pilot, ship pilot, or simply pilot, is a mariner who maneuvers ships through dangerous or congested waters, such as harbors or river mouths. Maritime pilots are regarded as skilled professional ...
s) must be trained and then cleared for using the special laser
A laser is a device that emits light through a process of optical amplification based on the stimulated emission of electromagnetic radiation. The word "laser" is an acronym for "light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation". The fir ...
lighthouse
A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of physical structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lenses and to serve as a beacon for navigational aid, for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways.
Lighthouses mar ...
that indicates by colours whether the ship must be steered left or right to regain the centre line.
*All road traffic is now halted whilst large vessels transit beneath the bridge.
On top of the new safety measures implemented, the bridge was further upgraded to hold a fifth lane. This upgrade included the construction of a lane management system which would enable the new middle lane to function as a reversible lane
A reversible lane (British English: tidal flow) is a lane in which traffic may travel in either direction, depending on certain conditions. Typically, it is meant to improve traffic flow during rush hours, by having overhead traffic lights and li ...
. The system consists of a traffic light system and a sign above each lane, pictured right. The signs, in conjunction with the traffic light system, employ a pulley system to periodically pull the signs over their appropriate lanes.
The middle lane points towards the city side (or western shore) during a.m. peak hours and points back towards the eastern shore during p.m. peak hours. The lane generally points towards the eastern shore during non-peak hours.
The Tasman Bridge repair took two years and cost approximately $44 million.[ The bridge reopened on 8 October 1977.][The Roads ''Australian Transport'' October 1978 page 6]
Gallery
Tasman-under-from-east-shore.jpg, View of the bridge from the eastern shore
Tasman-bridge-from-south.jpg, Looking towards the Tasman Bridge from Montagu Bay
NS14TasmanBridge.JPG, Dinghy and the bridge.
Tasman-bridge-fixed-span.jpg, The repaired bridge span
Tasman Bridge Hobart1.jpg, The view of the Bridge from Mount Wellington
Derwent River 013.jpg, A view of the bridge from the river
Tasman Bridge from Western shore.JPG, Tasman Bridge from the Western shore
Bridge into Hobart.jpg, Entering the bridge from the eastern shore
Tasman Bridge towards Rose Bay, Hobart, Tasmania (36103737153).jpg, Entering the bridge from the west side
See also
*List of disasters in Australia by death toll
This is a list of disasters in Australia by death toll.
100 or more deaths
50 to 99 deaths
20 to 49 deaths
Between 10 and 20
Gallery
Image:Port arthur outside.jpg, The Port Arthur massacre claimed 35 lives in 1996 when Martin Bryan ...
References
* Reference: Lewis, Tom. ''By Derwent Divided''. Darwin: Tall Stories, 1999.
* Ludeke, M. (2006) ''Ten Events Shaping Tasmania's History.'' Hobart: Ludeke Publishing.
External links
Live webcam view of Hobart including the Tasman Bridge
Traffic camera view of the Tasman Bridge
* Archival photographs of construction of the Tasman Bridge
*
{{Authority control
Bridges in Hobart
Bridges completed in 1964
Landmarks in Hobart
Roads with a reversible lane
Road bridges in Tasmania
River Derwent (Tasmania)
1964 establishments in Australia