Carrathool Bridge over Murrumbidgee River, Historic truss bridge in Carrathool Shire, Australia.
Carrathool Bridge is a single-lane Allan-type timber truss road bridge over the Murrumbidgee River, with two 21.8-metre timber truss spans, three timber approach spans at each end, and a steel bascule lift span on cylindrical twin iron piers. Its overall length is 115.5 metres and its carriageway is at least 4.3 metres wide, with a timber post-and-rail guard rail along the full length.
The bridge opened in 1924 and replaced an earlier ferry service that previously crossed the river. This change marked an important advance in transport infrastructure for the agricultural region.
The bridge is named after Carrathool, the town it linked to the Sturt Highway, and locals long called it simply the Carrathool Bridge. Its Allan truss design, named for Public Works Department engineer Percy Allan, was the third stage in the evolution of NSW timber truss bridges. The lift span was built by Poole and Steel, and the structure was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 20 June 2000.
The bridge closed to traffic in 2019, when the two-lane concrete Merrylees Bridge took over the crossing; the timber structure is no longer a route for vehicles. It stands beside the Murrumbidgee River at Carrathool, linking the Sturt Highway and Murrumbidgee Road area. Its single lane was only 4.3 metres wide, so inspect it on foot rather than drive across.
The lift span was built by Poole and Steel and rides on cylindrical twin iron piers, while the timber truss spans rest on timber trestles. Of the three bascule lift spans left in New South Wales, this is the only one set within a timber truss road bridge.
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