MacRobertson Bridge

Coordinates: 37°49′50″S 145°00′45″E / 37.830446°S 145.012638°E

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MacRobertson Bridge
Coordinates	37°49′50″S 145°00′45″E / 37.830446°S 145.012638°E / -37.830446; 145.012638
Carries	Road, pedestrians
Crosses	Yarra River, Monash Freeway
Locale	Melbourne, Australia
History
Opened	October 31, 1934 (1934-10-31)^[1]
Location

The MacRobertson Bridge is a road bridge that carries Grange Road from Toorak on the south bank into Burnley, over the Yarra River and the Monash Freeway in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.^[2]

The first river crossing at the site was Twickenham Ferry, which conveyed passengers and was founded by waterman Jesse Barrow in 1880. it was named for the Twickenham Ferry in London.^[3] The ferry survived until 1934, when it was replaced by the MacRobertson Bridge, financed by Sir Macpherson Robertson.^[4]

The bridge was opened on October 31, 1934, although a plaque on the bridge places this date as November 5 in the same year. When built the bridge was one of two bridges in the world to be the first to use welded steel trusses.^[5]

As built the bridge only spanned the Yarra, but in 1967 the South Eastern Arterial was built, running under the northernmost span.^[6] The bridge got a minor upgrade when the freeway was widened as part of the CityLink project.

References

^ "LOAN COUNCIL". The Argus (Melbourne). No. 27, 499. Victoria, Australia. 6 October 1934. p. 24. Retrieved 26 September 2016 – via National Library of Australia., ..The Premier (Sir Stanley Argyle)...that the date selected for the Loan Council meeting at Canberra was not convenient for him...He had very pressing engagements In Melbourne, including the opening of the Macpherson Robertson bridge over the Yarra on Wednesday, October 31...
^ "MacRobertson Bridge, Yarra River, Heritage Overlay HO262". Victorian Heritage Database. Heritage Victoria.
^ "Twickenham Ferry in Australia". janus.lib.cam.ac.uk. Retrieved 9 July 2008.
^ City of Yarra. "Private and Public Transportation" (PDF). City of Yarra Heritage Review: Thematic History. 209.85.173.104. p. 60. Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 August 2008. Retrieved 9 July 2008.
^ "McKillop Bridge". Register of the National Estate. www.aussieheritage.com.au. Retrieved 9 July 2008.
^ City of Yarra. "Richmond Conservation Study" (PDF). 209.85.173.104. Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 August 2008. Retrieved 9 July 2008.

External links

Photo: Twickenham ferry^{[permanent dead link‍]}
Photo: Model of the bridge
Photo: Construction of the bridge

Crossings of the Yarra River in Melbourne