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Sandridge Bridge
Coordinates	37°49′13″S 144°57′47″E / 37.8202°S 144.963°E / -37.8202; 144.963
Carries	Pedestrians, cyclists
Crosses	Yarra River
Locale	Melbourne, Australia
Characteristics
Design	Steel girder
Total length	178.4 m (585 ft)
Width	17 m (55.8 ft)
Longest span	36.9 m (121.1 ft)
History
Opened	1888
Location

The Sandridge Bridge is a historic bridge, which originally carried railway lines over the Yarra River in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It runs diagonally to the river and is 178.4 metres (585 ft) long. In 2006, it was redeveloped as a pedestrian and cycle path, featuring public art. It is the third bridge on the site and is listed on the Victorian Heritage Register.

History

The first bridge was built in 1853 for the Melbourne and Hobson's Bay Railway Company Port Melbourne railway line, which ran from Flinders Street to what was then known as Sandridge, now Port Melbourne, on Hobsons Bay, Port Phillip. It was the first railway in Australia to operate with steam locomotives. In 1857, the St Kilda railway line was opened, which ran parallel with the Sandridge line across the bridge. The original bridge was replaced in 1858 by a timber trestle bridge carrying two tracks with the tight curve of the original railway removed by rebuilding the bridge on a more oblique angle, as seen today.

The current bridge was designed by the Victorian Railways and the construction contract was let to David Munro & Co in 1886, the four-track bridge opening for traffic in 1888. The actual junction of the Port Melbourne and St Kilda lines was at Flinders Street, with the two pairs of tracks running parallel until Clarendon Street, where the St Kilda line diverged south. Constructed at a 33-degree angle to the river bank, it was one of the first railway structures in Melbourne to use steel girders rather than iron, and the workforce included a young engineering student, John Monash. On either side of the river, the steel girders were supported by bluestone and brick buttresses and, on the south side, the structure continued as a brick viaduct. In the 1920s, overhead electrical stanchions were added as part of the electrification of the line, and the original timber deck was replaced with rail and concrete slabs.

The use of the bridge by the Port Melbourne and St Kilda railway lines ceased in 1987, when both lines were converted to light rail. There were proposals for the light rail lines to continue over the Sandridge Bridge into Flinders Street station, but they were diverted from the railway reserve at Clarendon Street and run into the city via Spencer Street. The light rail lines operate today as the route 96 tram to St Kilda, and route 109 tram to Port Melbourne.

The viaduct over Queensbridge Street and the embankment across the South Bank were listed by the National Trust and were noted as being historically significant, but were removed. Only the bridge over the river itself was retained, with a number of different redevelopment plans proposed during the 1990s.

Redevelopment

In 2001, the State Government held an expressions of interest process for refurbishment of the bridge, seeking commercial involvement, but the process was not successful and, in 2003, the Melbourne City Council and the Department of Sustainability and Environment took over. They committed $15.5 million to restore the bridge, create a plaza on the Southbank side, and make connections to walkways on the Yarra north bank. In 2005, it was announced that artist Nadim Karam had been commissioned to create ten abstract sculptures in a group titled The Travellers, which represents the different types of immigrants who traditionally arrived by train over the bridge from Station Pier, Port Melbourne. Nine of the sculptures move across the bridge in a 15-minute sequence, travelling on bogies running between the two bridge spans.

The refurbished bridge was unveiled three days before the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, at a final cost of $18.5 million. It included a new pedestrian and cycle path, and public space, connecting a new Queensbridge Square at Southbank to Flinders Walk on the north bank. However, only the eastern half of the bridge was reopened, the western half being stabilised and fenced off from public access.

On 11 June 2007, the bridge was vandalised when persons unknown used a sledgehammer to smash 46 of the 128 glass panels of the Travellers exhibit. Each glass panel offers information about Australian indigenous peoples or the countries of immigrants to Australia, from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe. It was expected to cost between A$200,000 and A$300,000 to repair and city councillors were considering using more durable materials to replace the glass.

In 2007, the project was awarded the Melbourne Prize by the Victorian Chapter of the Australian Institute of Architects, for its design and its contribution to the public life of Melbourne.

Specifications

The bridge is 178.4 metres (585 ft) long and is made up of five spans, measuring in length, from the south bank to the north bank: 36.9 metres (121.1 ft), 36.6 metres (120.1 ft), 36.3 metres (119.1 ft), 36.9 metres (121.1 ft) and 31.7 metres (104 ft). The bridge is 17 metres (55.8 ft) wide and the girders are 2.74 metres (8.98 ft) high from the top to the bottom flange.

Gallery

• Sculptures on the Sandridge Bridge
• The glass panels contain information about each country from which immigrants came to Melbourne.
• The bridge as viewed from Southbank.
• Vandalised glass panels have been sectioned off behind temporary fencing.
• Sandridge Bridge Towards Flinders Street station
• Sandridge Bridge (Built 1888) Redeveloped in South Bank End
• Melbourne South Bank & Sandridge Bridge
• Sandridge Bridge with South & North Banks

References

1. ^ "Sandridge Railway Line Bridge". Victorian Heritage Database. Heritage Council of Victoria. Retrieved 1 December 2023.
2. Harrigan, L.J. (September 1954). "Centenary of the Melbourne-Sandridge Railway". Australian Railway Historical Society Bulletin. Vol. 5 (new series), no. 203. Redfern, NSW: Australian Railway Historical Society, New South Wales Division. p. 101. ISSN 1449-6291.
3. "Line data: St Kilda line". VICSIG - Infrastructure. vicsig.net. Retrieved 5 July 2008.
4. "Sandridge rail bridge". National Trust of Australia. Retrieved 5 July 2008.
5. ^ "Port Melbourne Flinders Street Railway Reservation, South Melbourne, VIC Profile". Aussie Heritage. Archived from the original on 10 August 2008. Retrieved 5 July 2008.
6. "Port Melbourne line 1971". Victorian Railways signal diagram. victorianrailways.net. Retrieved 5 July 2008.
7. Southern Public Transport Link Feasibility Study (PDF). 1991. pp. 2–3.
8. ^ "Travellers tales to be writ large on Sandridge Bridge". Media Release: Minister for Planning, Minister for Arts. legislation.vic.gov.au. 8 May 2005. Archived from the original on 7 March 2012. Retrieved 5 July 2008.
9. ^ Rumble, Chantal (13 March 2006). "Revamped bridge makes the journey worthwhile". The Age. Retrieved 5 July 2008.
10. Miletic, Daniella; Money, Lawrence (14 June 2007). "Disbelief at vandal's attack on migrant tribute". The Age. Retrieved 5 July 2008.

v t e Railway bridges in Australia
New South Wales former	Albury–Wodonga Bargo Belmore Beverly Hills Bowenfels Burwood Canterbury Como Cougal Spiral Cowra Dubbo Dunmore Emu Plains Glebe and Wentworth Park Goulburn Grafton Gundagai Hawkesbury River John Whitton Kempsey Lismore Lithgow Coal Stage Signal Box Lithgow Underbridge Lewisham Marrangaroo Menangle Moss Vale Narrandera Orange Penrith Picton Queanbeyan Redfern Rydal Sandgate Flyover Springwood Stanwell Park Strathfield Sydney Harbour Tahmoor Tamworth Taree Tocumwal Wagga Wagga Wallerawang Wambool Woolbrook Bathurst Bredbo Colinton Como Dundee Emu Plains Gulgong Knapsack Viaduct Lithgow Zig Zag Manilla Old Como Railway Square Sunnyside Ultimo Yarraford Yass
Northern Territory	Elizabeth River
Queensland	Albert Alexandra Angellala Bremer River Burdekin Burdekin River Deep Creek Dickabram Etheridge Harlin Humphery Ideraway Creek Imbil Indooroopilly Lockyer Maroochy River Merivale Murphys Creek Quart Pot Creek Sadliers Crossing Saltwater Creek Splitters Creek Steep Rocky Creek Swansons Woolooga
South Australia former	Goodwood Overpass Mary MacKillop Murray Bridge Rail Brige Seaford Rail Viaduct Algebuckina
Tasmania	Bridgewater Longford
Victoria former	Albion Viaduct Avon River Bridge Breakwater Bridge Bunbury St Railway Bridge Cowies Creek (No. 1) Cremorne Eltham Railway Trestle Bridge Hawthorn Heyington Kensington Railway Bridge Lal Lal Creek Viaduct Malmsbury Viaduct Melton Viaduct Millbrook Viaduct Montbulk Trestle Bridge Saltwater River Taradale Viaduct Tocumwal Fairfield Sandridge
Western Australia former	Fremantle Goongoongup Mount Henry Narrows Bunbury

37°49′13″S 144°57′45″E / 37.820218°S 144.962529°E / -37.820218; 144.962529

• Pedestrian bridges in Melbourne
• Heritage sites in Melbourne
• Bridges completed in 1888
• Bridges over the Yarra River
• 1888 establishments in Australia
• Former railway bridges in Australia
• Transport in the City of Melbourne (LGA)
• Buildings and structures in the City of Melbourne (LGA)
• Southbank, Victoria