Bridge in Lefevre Peninsula
| Birkenhead Bridge | |
|---|---|
 Birkenhead Bridge in February 2010 | |
| Coordinates | 34°50′32″S 138°30′03″E / 34.84230°S 138.50093°E / -34.84230; 138.50093 |
| Carries | Nelson Street |
| Crosses | Port River |
| Locale | Lefevre Peninsula |
| Owner | Department of Planning, Transport & Infrastructure |
| Preceded by | Tom 'Diver' Derrick Bridge |
| Followed by | Jervois Bridge |
| Characteristics | |
| Design | Bascule |
| Total length | 246 metres |
| Width | 16 metres |
| Clearance above | 5.4 metres |
| No. of lanes | 4 (as built) 2 (since 2014) |
| History | |
| Constructed by | Adelaide Construction |
| Fabrication by | Perry Engineering |
| Opened | 14 December 1940 |
| Location | |
The Birkenhead Bridge is a bascule bridge in Adelaide, Australia that crosses the Port River.
In February 1938, the Government of South Australia awarded a contract to Adelaide Construction to build a bridge across the Port River from Birkenhead to Port Adelaide, with Perry Engineering contracted to supply the steelwork. The bridge was opened on 14 December 1940 by Governor Malcolm Barclay-Harvey. It was one of only four bascule bridges in the world adapted for use by trolleybuses.
In 2014, two of the four road lanes were converted into pedestrian and bike paths. In 2020, the timber road deck has been replaced with fibre reinforced polymer and the timber footpath with aluminium.
The bridge is listed on the South Australian Heritage Register.
References
- Bridge over river at Adelaide The Argus 8 February 1938 page 2
- Birkenhead Bridge Opened The Advertiser 16 December 1940 page 16
- Birkenhead Bridge SA History Hub
- Trolleybuses Trundle over Birkenhead Bascule Bridge Among Ourselves issue 87 August 1960
- Port Adelaide's Birkenhead Bridge still moving more than 16,000 vehicles daily in 75th anniversary year ABC Radio Adelaide 22 September 2015
- Birkenhead Bridge Upgrade Works Project Department of Planning, Transport & Infrastructure
- Birkenhead Bridge South Australia Heritage Places
External links
Media related to Birkenhead Bridge at Wikimedia Commons
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