Morpeth Bridge spans the Hunter River at Morpeth near Maitland. It is a timber bridge constructed in 1898 and has an overall length of 281 metres. Morpeth Bridge is maintained by the Roads and Traffic Authority and is of significant heritage importance.
Why were these works undertaken?
These essential works were undertaken to reinforce the bridge deck. This involved replacing the bottom chord timbers under the deck with steel reinforced bottom chord timbers. These works will reduce the ongoing maintenance requirements and associated traffic disruptions.
Overview of the work
The work started in September 2005 and was completed in November 2006. It was undertaken in two stages, with works carried out on the downstream side of the bridge before moving to the upstream side of the bridge.
Scaffolding was erected to access work areas and a Bailey bridge was installed to support the bridge deck while truss components were being removed.
The bottom chord timbers which are located along both sides of the bridge deck were replaced. The work was undertaken from a barge and crane located on the Hunter River to minimise disruptions to traffic flow.
The construction methodology was selected to minimise traffic impacts. The main traffic changes included short duration bridge closures (approximately 20 minutes at a time).
The RTA kept the community informed of progress and provided notification prior to works requiring traffic changes. The bridge was restricted to one lane until the work was completed in November 2006.
History of Morpeth Bridge
Morpeth bridge is the oldest remaining example of an overhead braced Allan truss road bridge in service. It is one of only three remaining of this type in NSW. Allan truss bridges superseded the McDonald truss bridges and were an extremely successful design. Major innovations were made in the areas of maintenance, cost of construction, and span length.
Timber truss bridges were important in the development of the road network and contributed to the expansion of rural NSW, particularly the mining and agricultural sectors. Before the construction of these bridges, river crossings were often treacherous, and an impediment to efficient transport.
The bridge was designed by Percy Allan, senior bridge designer at the Public Works Department, and is important to the history of Morpeth.
For further information contact the project manager Peter Talbot on (02) 4924 0676 or email: Peter_J_Talbot@rta.nsw.gov.au.
Further details are available in the community update below.
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