The Yowaka River bridge is a

heritage-listed This list is of heritage registers, inventories of cultural properties, natural and man-made, tangible and intangible, movable and immovable, that are deemed to be of sufficient heritage value to be separately identified and recorded. In many ...

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 ...

that carries the

Princes Highway Princes Highway is a major road in Australia, extending from Sydney via Melbourne to Adelaide through the states of New South Wales, Victoria (Australia), Victoria and South Australia. It has a length of (along Highway 1) or via the former ...

across the

Yowaka River Yowaka River, a perennial river of the Pambula River catchment, is located in the South Coast region of New South Wales, Australia. Course and features Yowaka River rises on the eastern slopes of the Bold Granite Range, southeast of Wyndham a ...

at Greigs Flat, New South Wales, Australia. It was built in 1936. The bridge is also known as the Yowaka Bridge near Eden. The bridge is owned by

Transport for NSW Transport for NSW, sometimes abbreviated to TfNSW, and pronounced as Transport for New South Wales, is an agency of the New South Wales Government established on 1 November 2011, and is the leading transport and roads agency in New South Wales, ...

. It was added to the

New South Wales State Heritage Register The New South Wales State Heritage Register, also known as NSW State Heritage Register, is a heritage list of places in the state of New South Wales, Australia, that are protected by New South Wales legislation, generally covered by the Heritag ...

on 20 June 2000.

History

The current bridge replaced an earlier timber bridge named Saltwater Bridge. (The Yowaka River was previously known as Saltwater River). Early road construction south of

Nowra Nowra is a city in the South Coast region of New South Wales, Australia. It is located south-southwest of the state capital of Sydney (about as the crow flies). As of the 2021 census, Nowra has an estimated population of 22,584. Situated in th ...

was not as continuous or well planned as in the

Illawarra The Illawarra is a coastal region in the Australian state of New South Wales, nestled between the mountains and the sea. It is situated immediately south of Sydney and north of the South Coast region. It encompasses the two cities of Wollongo ...

. The majority of roads were rough bridle tracks and were privately funded. An official line was surveyed in 1859 from

Merimbula Merimbula is a town on the Merimbula Lake, located on the Far South Coast or Sapphire Coast of New South Wales, Australia. At the , the population was 3,544. The population within 10 km of the Merimbula Post office is over 18,000 people. ...

to Bega. In 1864, the government extended the road from

Moruya Moruya is a town located on the far south coast of New South Wales, Australia, situated on the Moruya River. The Princes Highway runs through the town that is about south of Sydney and from Canberra. At the , Moruya had a population of 4 ...

to Bega. River crossings were problematic and it was not until the 1870s that improvements on river crossings were undertaken in the form of punts or bridges. It is likely that the first Saltwater River bridge was constructed in the 1870s or 1880s. Construction of the current bridge was undertaken as part of improvements to the Princes Highway in the 1930s. It was widened in 1994 to cater for modern traffic demands by overlaying the original deck with reinforced concrete and cantilevering it to the increased width. The longitudinal beams were post-tensioned at the end spans to augment the load carrying capacity.

Description

The four-

span Span may refer to: Science, technology and engineering * Span (unit), the width of a human hand * Span (engineering), a section between two intermediate supports * Wingspan, the distance between the wingtips of a bird or aircraft * Sorbitan ester ...

, concrete

girder bridge A girder bridge is a bridge that uses girders as the means of supporting its deck. The two most common types of modern steel girder bridges are plate and box. The term "girder" is often used interchangeably with "beam" in reference to bridge de ...

, simply supported continuous-over-pier bridge on a 26 degree skew, is supported on three internal

piers Piers may refer to: * Pier, a raised structure over a body of water * Pier (architecture), an architectural support * Piers (name), a given name and surname (including lists of people with the name) * Piers baronets, two titles, in the baronetages ...

and abutments on both ends. The north end is anchored on to the abutment and the remaining supports have rocker bearings to allow movement to the bridge deck. The deck was widened in 1994. Each of the three piers consists of two octagonal

columns A column or pillar in architecture and structural engineering is a structural element that transmits, through compression, the weight of the structure above to other structural elements below. In other words, a column is a compression member. ...

about from the top of the pile cap. A concrete diaphragm connects the two columns at mid-height and is approximately high. The thickness of the diaphragms is approximately . Two of the piers are supported on caissons while the third is supported on driven piles. The overall length of the bridge is with spans of , , and respectively. The deck is integral with two downstand beams running the full length of the bridge. The beams are curved, with haunches at each support point. Traverse cross beams, integral with the deck span are located between the longitudinal beams at regular intervals. The reinforcement in the original concrete consists of round bars. The concrete finish to the original structure is shutter or board finished and is aesthetically laid in the

soffit A soffit is an exterior or interior architectural feature, generally the horizontal, aloft underside of any construction element. Its archetypal form, sometimes incorporating or implying the projection of beams, is the underside of eaves (to ...

area and horizontal on the abutments and piers. The bridge was reported to be in good condition as at 15 June 2005, but had been damaged by fire as a result of a fuel tanker accident in June 1999.

Heritage listing

The bridge is of high state significance. It demonstrates how bridge designs evolved to address the structural capabilities or reinforced concrete compared to the traditional materials of masonry, timber and steel. It is a fine example of a continuous girder reinforced concrete bridge, a type constructed in a limited period between 1934 and

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 is part of the upgrade of the Princes Highway which commenced in 1924. It includes aesthetic qualities such as shuttering / formwork patterning, curved lines and a light graceful form, which addresses the construction process and structural characteristics unique to reinforced concrete. It is one of four continuous two girder reinforced concrete bridges in NSW and the only example with concrete bearings. Yowaka Bridge near Eden was listed on the

on 20 June 2000 having satisfied the following criteria. The place is important in demonstrating the course, or pattern, of cultural or natural history in New South Wales. Yowaka Bridge demonstrates the adoption or reinforced concrete as a relatively new material and the development of reinforced concrete bridge designs, which emerged during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Continuous girder bridges were one of the five reinforced concrete bridge types developed following the formation of the Main Roads Board in 1924. The bridge forms part of the Princes Highway and was part of the overall improvement works on the highway after the formation of the Main Roads Board. The place is important in demonstrating aesthetic characteristics and/or a high degree of creative or technical achievement in New South Wales. The surface form and texture created by the formwork and shutter design on the soffit, abutments and piers demonstrates that the architectural attributes of the bridge were part of the overall design and were not purely utilitarian. The level of detailing present on the soffit indicates that the architectural detailing was as important as the structural design. The subtle arches, level springings and haunches along the main beam / girder complement the structural characteristics and potential of reinforced concrete, which allowed a lighter and more graceful bridge design. The place possesses uncommon, rare or endangered aspects of the cultural or natural history of New South Wales. In 1999, one of four continuous two girder reinforced concrete bridges in NSW and the only example with concrete bearings. (Others are Kellys Gully Creek near Warialda Rail; Warialda Creek; Croobyar Creek) The place is important in demonstrating the principal characteristics of a class of cultural or natural places/environments in New South Wales. Yowaka Bridge is a fine example of a continuous reinforced concrete girder bridge. It contains all the attributes of a continuous reinforced concrete girder bridge as well as the fine architectural detailing. It is one of only ten such bridges in NSW.

References

Bibliography

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Attribution