Bridgewater Bridge (Tasmania)

Bridgewater Bridge
The Bridgewater Bridge
Coordinates	42°44′27″S 147°13′31″E / 42.74083°S 147.22528°E / -42.74083; 147.22528
Carries	Midland Highway South Railway Line
Crosses	Derwent River
Locale	Hobart, Tasmania, Australia
Begins	Granton
Ends	Bridgewater
Named for	Bridgewater
Owner	Department of State Growth
Characteristics
Design	Truss bridge with vertical lift
Material	Steel
Piers in water	13
No. of lanes	2
Rail characteristics
No. of tracks	1
Track gauge	1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in)
History
Construction start	1939
Opened	1946
Replaces	Swing punt (c. 1900s-1946)
Location

The Bridgewater Bridge is a combined road and rail bridge that carries the Midland Highway and South Railway Line across the Derwent River in Hobart, Tasmania, Australia. This steel truss vertical lift bridge and specially-built causeway connect the Hobart suburbs of Bridgewater and Granton. The bridge was completed in 1946 and accommodates a two-lane highway, a single track railway and a grade-separated footpath.

The bridge serves as a major connector link between the Midland Highway on the eastern shore and the Brooker Highway on the western shore. The bridge is the oldest surviving lift span bridge in Australia; lifting of the bridge can cause considerable traffic delays.