Crossings of the Yarra River

The Yarra River is a river in southern Victoria, Australia that flows through the city of Melbourne. Over the river's 242-kilometre (150 mi) length there are many structures that bridge the river.

A map of the Yarra River and its tributaries

Crossings

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The following is a partial list of structures have spanned the Yarra River in order of closest to the mouth of the river in Hobsons Bay.[1][2][3][4]

Name Image Type Height Year built Location Details
- Transmission Line Spotswood/Port Melbourne Transmits from Newport Power Station.
Spotswood sewer tunnel Sewer 1895 Flooded in 1895 during construction, six deaths
West Gate Bridge   Freeway 53 m (174 ft) 1978 Second longest bridge in Australia.
- Transmission Line 56 m (184 ft) - Docklands/Port Melbourne Connects to Fishermans Bend Terminal
Bolte Bridge   Tollway 25 m (82 ft) 1999 Tower height 140 m (460 ft)
Webb Bridges   Pedestrian - 1986 Docklands Originally built as part of the Webb Dock rail link, had rails removed in the late 1990s, and reconstructed at the south end in 2004 as a pedestrian bridge as part of Docklands precinct.
Charles Grimes Bridge Primary Arterial Road 3–4 m (9.8–13.1 ft) 1975 First bridge built in 1975, reconstructed in 2001.
Seafarers Bridge   Shared - pedestrians and cyclists - 2009 World Trade Centre/Melbourne Convention & Exhibition Centre
Spencer Street Bridge   Primary Arterial Road/Tram/Pedestrian 2–3 m (6 ft 7 in – 9 ft 10 in) 1930 Melbourne/Southbank
King Street Bridge   Primary Arterial Road/Pedestrian 2–3 m (6 ft 7 in – 9 ft 10 in) 1961 Southern end offramps altered 1997 for the development of Crown Casino.
Queens Bridge   Major Road/Tram 2–3 m (6 ft 7 in – 9 ft 10 in) 1889 Originally the site of a timber footbridge built in 1860.
Sandridge Bridge   Railway (Disused) - 1888 First bridge built 1853, second bridge built 1858, current bridge built 1888. Former rail bridge for the Port Melbourne and St Kilda railway lines, first rail crossing of the Yarra, converted to pedestrian use in 2006.
Evan Walker Bridge   Pedestrian - 1992 Renamed in 2015 in honour of Evan Walker[5]
Princes Bridge   Major Road/Tram - 1888 First bridge built 1844, second bridge built 1850, current bridge built 1888.
Swan Street Bridge   Primary Arterial Road - 1952 Melbourne
Burnley Tunnel   Tollway N/A 1997 Eastbound CityLink tunnel from Southbank to Burnley
Domain Tunnel   Westbound CityLink tunnel from Southbank to Richmond
Morell Bridge   Pedestrian - 1899 Former roadway closed when CityLink built, now pedestrian bridge
Hoddle Bridge   Primary Arterial Road - 1938 Cremorne Former punt river crossing site, now carries Hoddle Highway.
Cremorne Railway Bridge   Railway - 1946 Cremorne/South Yarra Carries Sandringham, Frankston, Pakenham and Cranbourne railway lines. First bridge built in 1860, current bridge built 1946
Church Street Bridge   Road/Tram - 1923 Richmond/South Yarra First bridge built in 1857, current bridge built 1923
- Transmission Line - - 1st of 5 crossings of the same line
- Transmission Line - - Burnley/Toorak 2nd of 5 crossings of the same line
- Transmission Line - - 3rd of 5 crossings of the same line
MacRobertson Bridge Primary Arterial Road - 1934 First crossing was a punt opened in 1880, current bridge built 1934
- Transmission Line - - 4th of 5 crossings of the same line
Heyington Bridge Railway/Pedestrian - - Glen Waverley railway line
- Transmission Line - - 5th of 5 crossings of the same line
Gardiners Creek Bridge Pedestrian - -
Monash Freeway Road - 1960s Forced relocation of the Yarra River
Swan Street Road, trams - - Burnley/Hawthorn
Hawthorn Railway Bridge Rail - 1861 Alamein, Belgrave & Lilydale lines
Hawthorn Bridge   Road, trams - 1861 Richmond/Hawthorn Originally built in 1861, widened in 1890, renovated in 1931
Victoria Bridge Road, trams - 1884 Richmond/Kew Originally built in 1884, widened in 1890, strengthened and widened in 1915, reconditioned and further widened in 1933
Walmer Street Footbridge Footbridge - 1892 Abbotsford/Kew First bridge built in 1891; was washed away one month after construction. Current bridge: Whipple truss design.
Collins Bridge Footbridge - -
Johnston Street Bridge Road - 1858 Burnley/Hawthorn
Kanes Bridge, Studley Park Footbridge - 1928 Fairfield/Kew The original bridge opened in 1928 to link Kew with the public golf course in Fairfield. It was destroyed by the 1934 flood. The current single-span suspension bridge was built in 1935. The suspension towers on either side are timber trestles, constructed of undressed log posts. The deck is suspended from steel tensioned cables hung from the towers, and has timber cross-patterned balustrading.
Eastern Freeway Road - 1977 Fairfield/Kew Effectively two concrete road bridges - one for each direction of traffic. Each bridge contains 4 - 5 lanes of traffic. The construction of the Eastern Freeway forced the relocation of the Yarra River.
Zig Zag Bridge, Kew Asylum Footbridge (Demolished) - 1864 - 1929 Fairfield/Kew Originally built by John Young to transport stone for the building of Kew Asylum. The early bridge resembled the form of Kanes Bridge. It was later used as a pedestrian connection point between Yarra Bend Asylum and Kew Asylum. Repaired in 1877. Rebuilt in 1891. Alterations in 1926. Demolished in 1929. Earmarked for rebuilding but so far never replaced. Located in the vicinity of Bellbird Picnic Area.
Fairfield Pipe Bridge   Pipeline/Footbridge - 1878 Fairfield/Kew The original bridge was built in 1878 to carry water from the Yan Yean Reservoir to Kew. Washed away in the floods of 1934. A new pipe bridge was built close to the site. The pylons of the original bridge were later demolished and no signs remain of the first pipe bridge.
Chandler Bridge Road - 1890, 2019 Alphington/Kew The six lane bridge carrying the Chandler Highway was opened in 2019; the original 1890 bridge carried the Outer Circle railway and now carries pedestrians and cyclists.
Footbridge Main Yarra Trail - - Ivanhoe/Kew East
Burke Road Road - -
- Transmission Line - - Bulleen 1st of 8 crossings in Bulleen of the same line
Banksia Street   Road - - Heidelberg/Bulleen
- Transmission Line - - Lower Plenty/Templestowe Lower 7th of 8 crossings of the same line
Odyssey House / Finns Reserve Footbridge - -
- Transmission Line - - 8th of 8 crossings of the same line
Westerfolds Park Footbridge, Main Yarra Trail - -
Fitzsimons Lane Road - - Eltham/Templestowe
- Transmission Line - - Separate line joining the above-mentioned line
- Footbridge - -
- Transmission Line - -
Warrandyte Bridge   Road - 1952 Warrandyte/North Warrandyte First bridge built 1861, current bridge built in 1952.
The Heritage Golf Club Road - - Christmas Hills/Chirnside Park
- Transmission Line - -
- Private road - -
Healesville railway Rail - - Yering
Melba Highway Road - -
Proposed Melba Highway bypass Road - -
Maxwells Road Road - - Coldstream/Healesville
Maroondah Highway Road - -
Healesville - Koo Wee Rup Road Road - - Launching Place
Former Healesville - Koo Wee Rup Road Road - -
Don Road Road - -
- Private road - -
Station Road Road - - Wesburn
Dee Road Road - - Millgrove
McKenzie-King Drive Road - -
Mayer Bridge Road - 1993 Warburton Connects Warburton Highway to Dammans Road. Officially re-opened 30 May 1993 by Councillor Pat Hunter, Shire President.
Swing Bridge Footbridge - - Connects Story Reserve to Dammans Road.
Brisbane Bridge   Road - - Connects Warburton Highway to Dammans Road
Bramich Footbridge Footbridge - 1993 Officially re-opened 30 May 1993 by Councillor Pat Hunter, Shire President.
Redwood Bridge Footbridge - 2000 Completed March 2000. Constructed by 22 Construction Regiment, 4 Combat Engineer Regiment and members of the Warburton Advancement League
Signs Bridge Road - - Where the Warburton Highway crosses the Yarra River in Warburton
Woods Point Road Road - - East Warburton
Hazelwood Road Road - -
Cement Creek Road Road - -
O'Shannassy Reservoir Access road - -
Peninsula Road Road - - McMahons Creek Culvert crossing dry river bed drained by Big Peninsula Tunnel
Big Peninsula Tunnel walking track walking track - - Concrete stepping stones
Woods Point Road   Road - - Reefton
Upper Yarra Dam Dam - 1957
  • There are also a number of ferries that cross the Yarra at various points such as the West Gate Ferry and Herring Island Punt.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Melway, Edition 35, 2008
  2. ^ "Boroondara info on Chandler Bridge". Archived from the original on 1 May 2009. Retrieved 4 January 2009.
  3. ^ "Darebin info on the Chandler Bridge". Archived from the original on 6 September 2006.
  4. ^ Anderson, J. T. Noble (October 1934). "Metropolitan Roads and Bridges" (PDF). Journal of Institution of Engineers Australia. 6: 359–360. Archived from the original (PDF) on 18 February 2011. Retrieved 10 September 2010.
  5. ^ "Bridge honours Evan Walker". Southbank Local News. 13 August 2015. Retrieved 15 September 2017.
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