Mcgees Bridge, Road bridge in Tasmania, Australia
McGees Bridge is a road bridge spanning Pitt Water near Sorell in southeastern Tasmania, providing a direct crossing for the Tasman Highway. The structure carries traffic between Hobart and the surrounding areas, serving as a key link in the regional road network.
A timber bridge first crossed Pitt Water in the mid-1800s to reduce travel time between Hobart and Sorell during Tasmania's early development. The location remained essential for regional transportation and was eventually replaced with the modern road bridge.
The bridge honours Dr Rodney William McGee, a senior engineer with Tasmania's Department of Infrastructure, Energy & Resources, who died of cancer on 1 February 2002 aged 47. He was recognised interstate and internationally for his bridge-engineering expertise. Premier Jim Bacon attended the opening ceremony, along with Minister Jim Cox, Sorell Mayor Carmel Torenius and members of McGee's family.
The bridge carries the Tasman Highway over Pitt Water; there is no pedestrian path, so visitors cross by vehicle. The structure sits in an internationally recognised wetland and heritage area, and the project was built with attention to safeguarding that environment.
The 1957 bridge was Australia's first post-tensioned beam and slab bridge; its tendon ducts were formed with inflated rubber tubes pulled out after the concrete set. The replacement, designed by GHD, is thought to be the first match-cast precast-segmental channel-type road bridge outside France and the United States.
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