McFarlane Bridge explained

Bridge Name:McFarlane Bridge
Native Name Lang:en
Named For:John McFarlane
Carries:Lawrence Road
Crosses:South arm of the Clarence River
Locale:Maclean, New South Wales, Australia
Owner:Transport for NSW
Engineering:Ernest de Burgh
Design:Beam bascule bridge with lifting span
Material:Timber and wrought iron
Spans:17:
Builder:Mountney and Company
Open:9 April 1906
Mapframe:yes
Mapframe-Zoom:14

The McFarlane Bridge is a road bridge that carries Lawrence Road across the south arm of the Clarence River at Maclean, New South Wales, Australia. The bridge connects the communities of Maclean and Woodford Island.

Description

The bridge has 16 timber beam spans of and one wrought iron and timber lifting span of supported by cast iron piers. The deck of the whole bridge is sawn hardwood. It was designed by Ernest de Burgh and constructed by Mountney and Company between 1904 and 1906.

The central bascule-type lifting span, notable for its cardioid counterweight track, became redundant and it was last opened for shipping in 1962.[1] The bridge was named in honour of John McFarlane, the Member for the Clarence.[2]

The history of the bridge was memorialised in a book The Centenary Of Mcfarlane Bridge Maclean 1906-2006 published by the Maclean District Historical Society.[3]

The bridge is an important link in the area carrying significant road traffic. As a number of components of the bridge require replacement, the major refurbishment work of the bridge was carried out from June 2012 to June 2013.[4]

Engineering heritage award

The bridge received a Historic Engineering Marker from Engineers Australia as part of its Engineering Heritage Recognition Program.[5]

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. News: McFarlane Bridge . Tasmanian Timber Promotion Board . . 21 June 2012 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20120325063346/http://oak.arch.utas.edu.au/projects/view_projectinfo.asp?projID=268 . 25 March 2012 .
  2. Web site: McFarlane Bridge, Clarence River, Maclean, 1906 . . 11 March 2015.
  3. News: The Centenary of Mcfarlane Bridge . . 21 June 2012.
  4. News: McFarlane Bridge Project . . 17 May 2012 . 21 June 2012.
  5. Web site: McFarlane Bridge, Clarence River, Maclean, 1906-. Engineers Australia. 2020-05-03.