Victoria Bridge, Devonport Explained

Bridge Name:Victoria Bridge
Official Name:Victoria Bridge
Carries:Bass Highway
Crosses:Mersey River
Locale:Devonport, Tasmania, Australia
Maint:Department of Infrastructure, Energy and Resources
Design:Prestressed concrete Girder
Open:1901
1973 (reopened)
Coordinates:-41.1928°N 146.3672°W

The original Victoria Bridge on the Mersey River Devonport, Tasmania, Australia was opened in 1901[1] thus reducing the reliance on boat and ferry traffic.

The Victoria Bridge partly collapsed as a result of the continuous boring by teredo worms in 1924.[2]

In 1973 a new concrete bridge replaced the old, battered Victoria Bridge, with the Bass Highway, a national highway (Highway 1), being the main arterial road dividing the suburb of Devonport from the suburbs of Miandetta and Stony Rise on the western side of the city and East Devonport and Ambelside on the eastern side of the city.

A permanent speed camera at East Devonport near Victoria Bridge was installed 18 November 2015.[3]

On a crossing of the Victoria Bridge there is a good view of the port and its facilities. Most travellers look out to see if the Spirit of Tasmania I or Spirit of Tasmania II are in port or the trader vessels Searoad Mersey or Searoad Tamar. Enhancing the view of the boats in port is the Julie Burgess a wooden tall ship.[4]

The Victoria Bridge is used by the Port of Devonport Authority as its boundary for the port.[5]

Inland Fisheries (Recreational Fishing) Regulations 1999 lists waters of the Mersey River, below the Victoria Bridge at Devonport that it is allowable for a person may to take indigenous fish without an angling licence.[6]

Local Businesses have taken on the name of the bridge incorporating it into their business name.[7]

Incidents

Deputy Commissioner Lewis was the only passenger in a motor vehicle which left the road at the eastern end of the Victoria Bridge at Devonport and plunged into the Mersey River on 3 August 1959.[8]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Our History. 23 May 2019. Devonport City Council. 14 September 2022.
  2. Web site: The Broken Bridge. National Library of Australia - Advocate Newspaper. 21 April 2017 .
  3. Web site: North-West permanent speed cameras to go live. Tasmania Police. 21 April 2017 .
  4. Web site: Julie Burgess a Success. Australian Broadcasting Commission. 21 April 2017 .
  5. Web site: Port of Devonport. Shipping Guides Ltd (UK). 21 April 2017 .
  6. Web site: Inland Fisheries (Recreational Fishing) Regulations 1999. Minister for Primary Industries, Water and Environment. 21 April 2017 .
  7. Web site: Victoria Bridge Self Serve. Dlook. 21 April 2017 .
  8. Web site: Honour Roll. National Police Memorial. 21 April 2017 .