Parramatta River railway bridge, Meadowbank, Railway and bicycle bridge in Meadowbank, Australia
The Meadowbank Railway Bridge is a double lattice girder bridge designed by John Whitton and built in 1886, crossing the Parramatta River between Meadowbank and Rhodes. Its girders are reinforced by a lattice of bars adjusted to suit changing structural forces, and it is the largest double track lattice girder bridge prefabricated in England for export to Australia. The bridge carried the Main Northern line until 1980 and now serves as a pedestrian and cycle bridge.
The bridge was constructed in 1886 following John Whitton's design and originally served as the railway crossing over the river. In 1980, a new parallel structure took over the train traffic, allowing the original bridge to be repurposed for pedestrians and cyclists.
The bridge is also known as the Meadowbank Rail Bridge over Parramatta River, and is sometimes wrongly called the John Whitton Bridge, a name that belongs to the 1980 parallel railway bridge. Its conversion to a pedestrian and cycle crossing came in the lead-up to the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney.
The bridge links Meadowbank and Rhodes as a pedestrian and cycle crossing of the Parramatta River. It was converted for this use ahead of the 2000 Summer Olympics, so walkers and cyclists share the former rail deck. The parallel John Whitton Bridge, opened in 1980, carries the trains today.
The bridge is one of twelve double lattice girder bridges still intact in the NSW railway system, and the largest double track lattice girder bridge prefabricated in England for export to Australia. Engineers Australia gave it a Historic Engineering Marker in 2001.
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