William Jolly Bridge
| William Jolly | |
|---|---|
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| Coordinates | 27°28′06″S 153°00′56″E / 27.46845°S 153.015491°ECoordinates: 27°28′06″S 153°00′56″E / 27.46845°S 153.015491°E |
| Carries | 4 lanes of vehicular traffic, two pedestrian paths |
| Crosses | Brisbane River |
| Locale | Brisbane, Queensland, Australia |
| Official name | William Jolly Bridge |
| Characteristics | |
| Design | Steel frame arch bridge |
| Total length | 500m |
| Longest span | Three main arches of 72m each |
| History | |
| Construction cost | ₤688,387 |
| Opened | 30 March 1932 |
The William Jolly Bridge is a heritage-listed vehicular and pedestrian bridge over the Brisbane River in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It is a steel frame arch bridge with an unusual concrete veneer and was opened to traffic on 30 March 1932 by Sir John Goodwin, the Governor of Queensland.
When opened, during the worst year of the Great Depression, the bridge was known simply as the Grey Street Bridge. It was renamed to the William Jolly Bridge on 5 July 1955 in memory of William Jolly, the first Lord Mayor of Greater Brisbane.
At the time of its conception, there was only one bridge crossing on the Brisbane River. The existing Victoria Bridge between the Brisbane central business district and South Brisbane suffered badly from traffic congestion during peak periods. The Victoria Bridge also contributed to traffic congestion in the Brisbane CBD as all traffic between the suburbs on the north and south sides of the river had to pass through the CBD. The Grey Street Bridge was conceived as a bypass for motor traffic between the southern suburbs and western suburbs of Brisbane to avoid increasing traffic congestion on the Victoria Bridge and on CBD streets such as George Street.
The Grey Street was designed by Harding Frew, a local but prominent civil engineer. The style of the bridge's design is art deco, which was popular at the time. Manuel R. Hornibrook's company built the bridge that consists of two piers that were built in the river and two pylons on the river banks, which support three graceful arches. The rainbow arch type, as it was described, was claimed to be the first of its type in Australia. The concrete surface was treated to make it appear like "light-coloured porphyry".
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