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Woronora Bridge, Woronora

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Collection SummaryThe Woronora River is crossed by a low level bridge at Menai Road, Woronora and a high level bridge at River Road, Woronora. There is also a bridge crossing the Woronora River at Heathcote Road. HistoryIn 1901 a petition was forwarded to the Minister for Works asking for a bridge to be constructed over the river near Sutherland. The Bangor Progress Association were in support of a bridge at Woronora. This would allow farmers to cart their produce to Sutherland rather than crossing at the Lugarno Ferry and then travelling on to Hurstville.

A petition with 400 names was received by the Minister for Works in 1905 and construction of a bridge began in 1911. Sutherland Shire Council did not have the funds to build the approach roads. When the project was classified as “National Work” to link the infantry camp at Holsworthy with the artillery camp at Heathcote the road construction was funded by the state government.

The single lane timber bridge opened in 1912 amidst concern that a single lane bridge was not adequate. The bridge continued to operate until 1981. Repairs were undertaken in 1960 during which time it was closed to heavy traffic.

Sutherland Shire Council began petitioning the State Government for a new bridge in the 1960s. The volume of traffic resulted in long queues at both approaches. This became a matter of urgency once the Alfords Point Bridge opened in 1973. The design process was started in 1974 and construction began in 1979. Plans for a high level bridge did not proceed due to cost.

The new two-lane 99 metre concrete bridge was officially opened by Maurie Keane, State MP, on 11 May 1981. The bridge links Sutherland to Woronora via Menai Road. Construction cost was reported as between $500,000 and $1 million. The original timber bridge was demolished by the Department of Main Roads in 1982.

The urban development of Menai saw an increase in population on the Western side of the river. Within a few years the two lane bridge was not adequate to cope with the volume of traffic. Construction on a second two lane bridge was planned to start in 1991. Construction was postponed as funds were diverted to other state government road projects. The pylons were laid in 1994 then work was halted. Work resumed in 1997 when there was bipartisan support for the project during the Sutherland by-election campaign. One of the main factors behind support for the bridge was the difficulties emergency services had accessing the bridge during the bushfires in the 1990’s.

The bridge was designed and constructed by Barclay Mowlem Construction Limited at a cost of $47 million. The 521 metre, four lane high level bridge was completed in 2001 linking Sutherland to Bangor via River Road. The bridge was officially opened on Sunday 11 Feb 2001 by the NSW Premier, Mr Bob Carr. The old concrete bridge remains open for local traffic between Sutherland and Woronora.

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Construction of the high-level bridge, 1990s

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CategoryBridge