Department of Planning, Transport & Infrastructure
Preceded by
Tom 'Diver' Derrick Bridge
Followed by
Jervois Bridge
Characteristics
Design
Bascule
Total length
246 metres
Width
16 metres
Clearance above
5.4 metres
No. of lanes
4 (as built) 2 (since 2014)
History
Constructed by
Adelaide Construction
Fabrication by
Perry Engineering
Opened
14 December 1940
Location
The Birkenhead Bridge is a bascule bridge in Adelaide, Australia that crosses the Port River.
In February 1938, the Government of South Australia awarded a contract to Adelaide Construction to build a bridge across the Port River from Birkenhead to Port Adelaide, with Perry Engineering contracted to supply the steelwork.[1] The bridge was opened on 14 December 1940 by Governor Malcolm Barclay-Harvey.[2][3] It was one of only four bascule bridges in the world adapted for use by trolleybuses.[4]
In 2014, two of the four road lanes were converted into pedestrian and bike paths.[5] In 2020, the timber road deck has been replaced with fibre reinforced polymer and the timber footpath with aluminium.[6]
The bridge is listed on the South Australian Heritage Register.[7]
^Bridge over river at Adelaide The Argus 8 February 1938 page 2
^Birkenhead Bridge Opened The Advertiser 16 December 1940 page 16
^Birkenhead Bridge SA History Hub
^Trolleybuses Trundle over Birkenhead Bascule Bridge Among Ourselves issue 87 August 1960
^Port Adelaide's Birkenhead Bridge still moving more than 16,000 vehicles daily in 75th anniversary year ABC Radio Adelaide 22 September 2015
^Birkenhead Bridge Upgrade Works Project Department of Planning, Transport & Infrastructure
^Birkenhead Bridge South Australia Heritage Places
The BirkenheadBridge is a bascule bridge in Adelaide, Australia that crosses the Port River. In February 1938, the Government of South Australia awarded...
Birkenhead (/ˌbɜːrkənˈhɛd/) is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, Merseyside, England; historically, it was part of Cheshire until 1974. The...
Birkenhead Park is a major public park located in the centre of Birkenhead, Merseyside, England. It was designed by Joseph Paxton and opened on 5 April...
could only get as far as the end of Gawler Reach (near the current BirkenheadBridge). Arrivals had to use smaller boats, traverse the mangrove swamps...
list of bascule bridges by country: BirkenheadBridge carries traffic across the Port River at Port Adelaide Tom 'Diver' Derrick Bridge - Port Adelaide...
north end of Birkenhead, Duke Street bridge is also a bascule bridge but with painted green girders. Originally, it was a swing bridge. Furthest upstream...
Birkenhead High School Academy is an all-ability state funded girls' Academy in Birkenhead, Wirral. Birkenhead High School was the main Wirral private...
Bridge Road. The railway lines are still partially intact. At the northern end of the branch, disused goods yards are situated parallel to Birkenhead...
city to Birkenhead, and the Kingsway Tunnel, opened in 1971, to Wallasey. A road bridge, completed in 1961 and later named the Silver Jubilee Bridge, crosses...
services operating from Circular Quay. Birkenhead Wharf is located adjacent to the Iron Cove Bridge and close to Birkenhead Point Outlet Centre. A bus stop exists...
Jervois Bridge is a bridge in Greater Adelaide, Australia that crosses the Port River. Construction of the original 98 m (322 ft) Jervois Bridge from Port...
with Birkenhead. The route was soon modified to connect Seacombe (instead of Birkenhead) to Hoylake, with a branch from Bidston to Wallasey Bridge Road...
Mary MacKillop opening rail bridge, the Expressway bridge, the BirkenheadBridge, the Jervois Bridge, and a railway bridge carrying the Outer Harbor railway...
Birkenhead School is a private, academically-selective, co-educational day school located in Oxton, Wirral, in North West England. The school offers educational...
14 December: Major fire at Lion Timber Mills, Port Adelaide 1940: BirkenheadBridge opened. Second industry rapidly expanded throughout Adelaide region...
Birkenhead Woodside was a railway station located at Woodside, in Birkenhead, on the Wirral Peninsula, Cheshire. It served both local services within Cheshire...
Birkenhead Point is a point in Port Jackson, in the suburb of Drummoyne, New South Wales, Australia. The area was once largely industrial but it is now...
Tunnel, which link Liverpool to Birkenhead and Wallasey respectively, and by the Silver Jubilee Bridge and Mersey Gateway Bridge, which link Runcorn and Widnes...
opened on North Terrace by the Governor-General Lord Gowrie. 1940: BirkenheadBridge opens. 1940: Ship building begins at Whyalla. 1940: Pinguin enters...
The Lions Gate Bridge, opened in 1938 and officially known as the First Narrows Bridge, is a suspension bridge that crosses the first narrows of Burrard...
Global Information
