Monkerai Bridge over Karuah River, Historic road bridge in Monkerai Valley, Australia.

Monkerai Bridge is a road crossing over the Karuah River in a valley between two villages. The structure combines timber beams with metal components and rests on concrete foundations that support its multiple spans.

The bridge was completed in 1882 as part of an early wave of timber truss bridge building. Its construction followed a government decision to use local materials for new infrastructure projects.

The bridge is linked to William Bennett, Commissioner for Public Works, who designed the Old PWD truss and is called the "father" of timber truss bridges in NSW. Timber truss bridges also shape the social identity of NSW as the "timber truss bridge state", the only Australian state to use them widely in its late 19th and early 20th century road network.

You can drive across or walk along this bridge as it remains an active road connection. Access is straightforward since it serves as a public road with standard usage.

Only two Old PWD truss bridges survive in New South Wales; the other, Clarence Town Bridge over the Williams River, has been altered more, leaving Monkerai with the higher integrity. The design lineage traces back to the 16th-century Italian architect Andrea Palladio, whose timber truss patterns influenced the type.