Bethanga Bridge over the Murray River

Item details


Name of item:	Bethanga Bridge over the Murray River
Other name/s:	RTA Bridge No. 5575
Type of item:	Built
Group/Collection:	Transport - Land
Category:	Road Bridge
Location:	Lat: 147.05575421 Long: -36.08798209
Primary address:	Riverina Highway (SH 20), Albury, NSW 2640
Local govt. area:	Greater Hume

All addresses

Street Address	Suburb/town	LGA	Parish	County	Type
Riverina Highway (SH 20)	Albury	Greater Hume			Primary Address

Owner/s

Organisation Name	Owner Category	Date Ownership Updated
Transport for NSW	State Government

Statement of significance:


	Bethanga Bridge is of State significance. Built between 1927 and 1930, it was the product of the Hume Dam joint venture project of the NSW and Victorian governments. It was a important component of the 1915 River Murray Waters Agreement signed by the Victorian, New South Wales, South Australian and Federal governments to regulate the flow of the Murray River and manage water rights between the three states. The construction of the Hume Dam whereby the New South Wales Department of Public Works and the Victorian State Rivers and Water Supply Commission were jointly responsible for the design and construction of the bridge. The bridge was designed in New South Wales by Department of Public Works engineer Percy Allan and the trusses were built by Vickers Ruwolt in Melbourne. Bethanga Bridge is of scientific (technical) significance for the unusual use in Victoria of Pratt trusses, a predominantly NSW technology, its construction. The Pratt truss was frequently used in New South Wales but this represents a rare example of its use in Victoria. The use of this system in this instance, its design by New South Wales and construction by Victoria, also represents the cooperation of New South Wales and Victoria in the development and ongoing use of major infrastructure. It is a very fine representative of its type and is rare in its location being specifically sited to cross a reservoir and consequently being of great length and having considerable aesthetic appeal
	Date significance updated: 03 Jun 11
	Note: The State Heritage Inventory provides information about heritage items listed by local and State government agencies. The State Heritage Inventory is continually being updated by local and State agencies as new information becomes available. Read the Department of Premier and Cabinet copyright and disclaimer.

Description


Physical description:	The Bethanga Bridge was designed by the Department of Public Works in 1926 and was built in 1930. It consisted of nine spans all of which were steel trusses and each of which was 82m in length, except for the first and last which were 81.4m long. In 1963 an extra approach span was added to the NSW side. It is a steel beam span 13.7m in length. The orientation of the bridge is NW - SE. The deck was originally timber but in 1967 it was replaced by prestressed concrete. In 1969 the trusses were raised 0.31m and the new concrete deck added to the thickness by 0.15m. The handrail is pipe and there is no footway. According to the RTA bridge card, abutment A is at the Victorian side and abutment B is at the NSW side. Abutment A is supported by a concrete wall the first two supports, last two supports and abutment B consist of concrete columns on concrete footings. The central five support structures are concrete columns on concrete pile caps with driven concrete piles beneath. Similar bridges on the Murray : Yarrawanga, Abbotsford
Physical condition and/or Archaeological potential:	Original condition assessment: 'Generally sound.' (Last updated: 21/05/1998.) 2007-08 condition update: 'Good.' (Last updated: 17/4/09.)
	Date condition updated:17 Apr 09
Further information:	The Bethanga Bridge is listed on the Victorian Heritage Database (VHR Number H0989).


Current use:	Road bridge
Former use:	Road bridge

History

Historical notes:

After decades of inter- state debate over the implications of diverting the waters of the Murray-Darling system for irrigation, the River Murray Waters Agreement was ratified in 1915 by the parliaments of New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia and the Commonwealth. The agreement, implemented by the River Murray Commission, had as one of its cornerstones the damming of the upper Murray upstream from Albury and Wodonga. When completed in 1936 the Hume Dam was the largest water storage in Australia and Lake Hume which formed behind it backed up water in the Murray Valley for some 90 Idlometres. To provide access from Albury to the Victorian peninsula between the Murray and Mitta Mitta rivers when flooding was complete, the Bethanga Bridge was built across the valley and the river in 1926, 1.6 kilometres upstream of the dam. Lake Hume filled around the bridge. With the raising of the dam spillway in 1953-4, the storage capacity of Lake Hume increased and an additional, tenth span was added on the New South Wales side in 1963.

Historic themes

Australian theme (abbrev)	New South Wales theme	Local theme
3. Economy-Developing local, regional and national economies	Technology-Activities and processes associated with the knowledge or use of mechanical arts and applied sciences	(none)-
3. Economy-Developing local, regional and national economies	Transport-Activities associated with the moving of people and goods from one place to another, and systems for the provision of such movements	(none)-
4. Settlement-Building settlements, towns and cities	Utilities-Activities associated with the provision of services, especially on a communal basis	(none)-

Assessment of significance


SHR Criteria a) [Historical significance]	The need for the bridge and the construction of the bridge are directly related to the construction of the Hume Dam. As such it is significant not only as a bridge but as an integral part of this large engineering project which had and still has for reaching control over the development of the area. The Hume Dam has been ranked in a paper delivered to the 9th National Conference on Engineering Heritage as the 13th most important dam in Australia and the 7th most important in New South Wales and the most important in Victoria.
SHR Criteria c) [Aesthetic significance]	The Bethanga Bridge is probably the most impressive bridge or object associated with the Murray River. Because of the large body of water it crosses it has a strong visual impression. The use of a series of steel trusses with each truss element being a compound section of riveted plates produces a lightweight and transparent structure. There are numerous similarities in design, proportion and date of construction to the Sydney Harbour Bridge.
SHR Criteria d) [Social significance]	Other than through its historical significance (Criterion 1) the bridge has no additional social significance other than as a link between the states of Victoria and New South Wales by virtue of being a border crossing.
SHR Criteria e) [Research potential]	The use of compound riveted sections in the steel trusses and the refined details of connections and bearings are representative of bridges of this age (the Sydney harbour bridge has similar detailing). These bridges represent the final level of refinement in steel truss bridges.
Assessment criteria:	Items are assessed against the State Heritage Register (SHR) Criteria to determine the level of significance. Refer to the Listings below for the level of statutory protection.

Listings

Heritage Listing	Listing Title	Listing Number	Gazette Date	Gazette Number	Gazette Page
Heritage Act - s.170 NSW State agency heritage register			26 Oct 06

References, internet links & images

Type	Author	Year	Title	Internet Links
Written	RMC	1961	The Work of the River Murray Commission

Note: internet links may be to web pages, documents or images.

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Data source


The information for this entry comes from the following source:
Name:	State Government
Database number:	4302002

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