The original Victoria Bridge on the
Mersey River Devonport, Tasmania
Devonport ( ; Palawa Kani: ''Tiagarra'') is a city in northern Tasmania, Australia, located on the lands of the Pannilerpanner clan of the Palawa nation. It is situated at the mouth of the Mersey River. Devonport had an urban population of 26,1 ...
,
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
was opened in 1901 thus reducing the reliance on boat and ferry traffic.
The Victoria Bridge partly collapsed as a result of the continuous boring by
teredo worms in 1924.
In 1973 a new concrete bridge replaced the old, battered Victoria Bridge, with the
Bass Highway, a national highway (Highway 1), being the main arterial road dividing the suburb of Devonport from the suburbs of
Miandetta and
Stony Rise on the western side of the city and East Devonport and
Ambelside on the eastern side of the city.
A permanent speed camera at East Devonport near Victoria Bridge was installed 18 November 2015.
On a crossing of the Victoria Bridge there is a good view of the port and its facilities. Most travellers look out to see if the
Spirit of Tasmania I
MS ''Spirit of Tasmania I'' is a roll-on/roll-off ferry operated by TT-Line between Melbourne and Devonport in Australia. Built in 1998 by Kvaerner Masa-Yards at Turku New Shipyard in Finland for Superfast Ferries as MS ''Superfast IV'', sin ...
or
Spirit of Tasmania II
MS ''Spirit of Tasmania II'' is a roll-on/roll-off ferry operated by TT-Line between Geelong and Devonport in Australia. Built in 1998 by Kvaerner Masa-Yards at Turku New Shipyard in Finland for Superfast Ferries as MS ''Superfast III'', sin ...
are in port or the trader vessels Searoad Mersey or Searoad Tamar. Enhancing the view of the boats in port is the Julie Burgess a wooden tall ship.
The Victoria Bridge is used by the Port of Devonport Authority as its boundary for the port.
Inland Fisheries (Recreational Fishing) Regulations 1999 lists waters of the Mersey River, below the Victoria Bridge at Devonport that it is allowable for a person may to take indigenous fish without an angling licence.
Local Businesses have taken on the name of the bridge incorporating it into their business name.
Incidents
Deputy Commissioner Lewis was the only passenger in a motor vehicle which left the road at the eastern end of the Victoria Bridge at Devonport and plunged into the Mersey River on 3 August 1959.
References
{{Road infrastructure in Tasmania
Road bridges in Tasmania
Bridges completed in 1973
Devonport, Tasmania
Mersey River (Tasmania)