Brooklyn Bridge (Sydney)

Brooklyn Bridge

The Brooklyn Bridge, pictured to the left carries the Pacific Motorway.
The Peats Ferry Bridge on the right carries the Pacific Highway, as they both cross the Hawkesbury River
Coordinates 33°32′19″S 151°11′57″E / 33.5385°S 151.1993°E / -33.5385; 151.1993Coordinates: 33°32′19″S 151°11′57″E / 33.5385°S 151.1993°E / -33.5385; 151.1993
Carries Pacific Motorway;
(Road traffic only. Pedestrians and bicycles are not permitted.)
Crosses Hawkesbury River
Locale Brooklyn, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Named for Brooklyn
Owner Roads & Maritime Services
Preceded by Peats Ferry Bridge –
(Pacific Highway – concurrent use)
Characteristics
Design Girder bridge
Material Concrete
History
Designer NSW Department of Main Roads
Construction end October 1973 (1973-10)
Opened October 1973 (1973-10)
References
[1][2]

The Brooklyn Bridge, a concrete girder bridge that spans the Hawkesbury River, is located northwest of the central business district of Sydney in New South Wales, Australia. The bridge carries part of the Pacific Motorway (M1) from Kangaroo Point to Mooney Mooney Point. The Brooklyn Bridge comprises a dual carriageway with three lanes in each direction of motorway grade-separated conditions.

The adjacent Peats Ferry Bridge carries the Pacific Highway (B83) also across the Hawkesbury River in a single carriageway with one lane in each direction in state highway conditions. Both bridges are maintain by NSW Roads & Maritime Services.

History

The Peats Ferry, a ferry operated by George Peat from 1847 until the 1890s, linked two stretches of the Pacific Highway. The ferry service had been reinstated as a temporary measure in 1930 pending completion of the Peats Ferry Bridge, some forty years after the original Peats Ferry had ceased operation, made redundant by the completion of the Sydney-Newcastle railway in 1889. Prior to the construction of the Peats Ferry Bridge, the course of the Pacific Highway stretched from Kangaroo Point on the southern bank of the Hawkesbury River south to Hornsby and provided access to Sydney's northern suburbs and beyond. On the northern side of the Hawkesbury, from Mooney Mooney Point the Pacific Highway followed a mountainous route towards Mount White, Kariong, and then Gosford, on the route that is now the Pacific Highway/Central Coast Highway.[3]

The Peats Ferry Bridge was constructed between 1939 and 1945 and replaced the ferry service operated by George Peat.[4][5] The Peats Ferry Bridge's construction predates the development of the Pacific Motorway. It was built as part of the Hornsby-Kariong section of the Pacific Highway, the first direct road link between Sydney and Newcastle. Before the bridge was built, road transport had to use a much longer route through Wisemans Ferry, or even further west. Construction of the bridge commenced in 1938 but it was not completed until May 1945.[6]

By 1968, levelling of the road from Hornsby to Calga had been completed, removing most of the major mountain passes. An additional road was built from Calga along Peats Ridge that liked up with the Mangrove Road from Wisemans Ferry to Somersby. With the opening of the Brooklyn Bridge in 1973 as part of the fourth stage of the Pacific Motorway upgrade, the Peats Ferry Bridge was superseded as the main crossing of the Hawkesbury River. The Peats Ferry Bridge continues in service carrying the Pacific Highway route as a backup and alternative route to the freeway and provides access from the freeway to the town of Brooklyn and to Mount White.[2] Prior to the opening of the Brooklyn Bridge, tolls of twenty cents in each direction were charged south of the Hawkesbury River at Berowra and north of the river at Mooney Mooney. When the Brooklyn Bridge was opened the toll booths at Mooney Mooney were removed a toll of fifty cents charge in each direction. The northbound carriage way opened in August 1973 allowing the northbound ramp to Peats Ferry Bridge to be demolished, and the southbound carriageway constructed in its place. The entire bridge was opened to traffic in October 1973.[7]

In December 1986 the Mooney Mooney Bridge was opened with resultant improvements in Pacific Motorway travel time and conditions.[8]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Crossing the Hawkesbury by Road". History Services Blog. History Services NSW. 17 April 2012. Retrieved 26 November 2016.
  2. 1 2 "Bridging the Hawkesbury River: Hornsby to Gosford" (PDF). NSW Roads and Traffic Authority. Government of New South Wales. March 2005. Retrieved 26 November 2016.
  3. ↑ "Peats Ferry Road (Former)". Heritage and conservation register, Roads & Maritime Services. Government of New South Wales. 18 November 2009. Retrieved 14 January 2015.
  4. ↑ Clugston, Niall (2008). "Peats Ferry". Dictionary of Sydney. Retrieved 14 January 2015.
  5. ↑ "HUGE SPAN OF N.S.W. TRAFFIC BRIDGE.". The Australian Worker. 53, (10). New South Wales, Australia. 8 March 1944. p. 8. Retrieved 3 June 2016 – via National Library of Australia.
  6. ↑ "Peats Ferry Road Bridge over Hawkesbury River". Heritage and conservation register, Roads & Maritime Services. Government of New South Wales. 15 August 2005. Retrieved 14 January 2015.
  7. ↑ "Sydney-Newcastle Freeway: Construction Information". Ozroads.com.au. Retrieved 26 November 2016.
  8. ↑ Mooney Mooney Bridge (1986) at Structurae. Retrieved 26 November 2016.
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