Barwon Heads Bridge

Barwon Heads Bridge
Barwon Heads Bridge
Coordinates	38°16′57″S 144°29′46″E
Carries	Motor vehicles, Pedestrians on a separate bridge
Crosses	Barwon River
Locale	between Barwon Heads and Ocean Grove, Victoria (Australia), Australia
Maintained by	VicRoads
Characteristics
Design	Beam bridge
Material	Timber, Steel, Concrete
Total length	308.5 metres (1,012 ft)
Width	9 metres (30 ft)
Longest span	34 x 9 m
No. of spans	34
Load limit	44 tonne
History
Constructed by	McConnell Dowell Constructors (Aust)
Construction start	May 2009
Construction end	December 2010
Replaces	1927-2010 timber bridge
Location

The Barwon Heads Bridge is a road bridge and a separate pedestrian bridge over the Barwon River between Barwon Heads and Ocean Grove, Victoria (Australia), Australia. The bridge is the only crossing of the Barwon River between Geelong and the river mouth at Barwon Heads.

The original timber bridge was the longest surviving example of a timber stringer road bridge in Victoria. It was constructed in 1926-1927 entirely of timber. It was a "causeway" type structure; low and flat in profile with closely spaced piers but long in length. In 2006 condition report it was determined that the bridge has reached the end of its effective life and should be replaced with a new bridge.

The new road bridge, which replaced the historic timber bridge, utilised components and design elements of the original Barwon Heads Bridge. The road bridge consists of 34 spans supported by 185 treated timber piles (five timber piles to each pier), galvanised steel I beams and reinforced concrete deck. The piers are spaced to match the original timber bridge. The bridge is 308.5 m long and 9 m wide and it carries two 3.3 m wide traffic lanes.

The new 4.5 metre wide pedestrian bridge is located 10 metres downstream from the new road bridge. It is a modern concrete bridge with 27 m long spans (to match every third road bridge pier alignment at 9m) supported by one pile per pier.

Construction of the bridge began in May 2009 and it was completed and opened to traffic in December 2010.

External links

• Bridge Project official webpage
• VicRoads Bridge Project newsletter
• Bridge Project Heritage Permit Application