Burdekin Bridge
The Burdekin Bridge (known as the Burdekin River Bridge or Silver Link) spans the Burdekin River between the towns of Ayr (locality of McDesme) to the north and Home Hill to the south, both in the Shire of Burdekin, Queensland, Australia. Located on the Bruce Highway which is part of Highway 1, it is an important link in the national road network. It is a road-rail bridge which provides high flood immunity link between north and south Queensland.
Burdekin Bridge | |
|---|---|
Burdekin Bridge | |
| Coordinates | 19.6404°S 147.3946°E |
| Carries | Bruce Highway Motor vehicles, Railway |
| Crosses | Burdekin River |
| Locale | between the towns of Ayr and Home Hill, Queensland, Australia |
| Other name(s) | Burdekin River Bridge or the Silver Link |
| Preceded by | Inkerman Bridge |
| Characteristics | |
| Design | Truss bridge |
| Material | Steel |
| Total length |
|
| Longest span | 250 feet (76.2 m) |
| No. of spans | 10 main spans and 22 approach spans |
| Piers in water | 9 |
| History | |
| Designer | Harry Lowe, Noel Ullman, Bill Hansen |
| Construction start | April 1947 |
| Construction end | 1957 |
| Opened | 27 March 1957 |
| Statistics | |
| Daily traffic | 7000 |
| Toll | No |
| Location | |
The Bridge was completed in 1957. Construction began 10 years earlier in 1947. At 3,620 feet (1,103 m) in length, it is one of the longest multi-span bridges in Australia and longer than Brisbane's Story Bridge or New South Wales's Hawkesbury River Railway Bridge. It is 46 metres shorter than Sydney's Harbour Bridge. It is the only bridge in Australia to be built on sand.