Burdekin Bridge
| Burdekin Bridge | |
|---|---|
Burdekin Bridge
|
|
| Carries |
 Bruce HighwayMotor vehicles, Railway |
| Crosses | Burdekin River |
| Locale | between the towns of Ayr and Home Hill, Queensland, Australia |
| Other name(s) | Burdekin River Bridge or the Silver Link |
| Preceded by | Low-set bridge (Destroyed) |
| Characteristics | |
| Design | Truss bridge |
| Material | Steel |
| Total length | 1,097 metres (3,599 ft) (or 1,103 metres (3,619 ft)) |
| Longest span | 76 metres (249 ft) |
| No. of spans | 10 main spans and 22 approach spans |
| History | |
| Designer | Harry Lowe, Noel Ullman, Bill Hansen |
| Construction begin | April 1947 |
| Construction end | 1957 |
| Opened | 15 June 1957 |
| Statistics | |
| Daily traffic | 7000 |
| Toll | No |
Coordinates: 19°38′24″S 147°23′40″E / 19.64000°S 147.39444°E
The Burdekin Bridge (known as the Burdekin River Bridge or Silver Link) spans the Burdekin River between the towns of Ayr and Home Hill, Queensland, Australia. Located on the Bruce Highway which is part of Highway 1, it is an important link in the national road network. It is a road-rail bridge which provides high flood immunity link between north and south Queensland.
The Bridge was completed in 1957. Construction began 10 years earlier in 1947. At 1097 metres (3,600 ft) in length, it is one of the longest multi-span bridges in Australia and longer than Brisbane's Story Bridge or New South Wales's Hawkesbury River Railway Bridge. It is 46 metres shorter than Sydney's Harbour Bridge.
Originally, it was thought that the bridge could not be built in its present location. No trace of rock could be found on which to build the bridge foundations. In 1946, two high-ranking Government engineers visited India to inspect a number of bridges built on sand foundations. The same technique was used for the Burdekin Bridge and it is the only bridge in Australia not built with a firm foothold.
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