Swan Street

The Swan Street Bridge still retains its name, despite the fact that it is no longer part of Swan Street.[5][6][7]

Construction on the bridge started on 24 September 1946, with Commissioner of Public Works Pat Kennelly driving the first pile.[5][8] The Country Roads Board (later VicRoads) tendered a contract for the building of the piers as the first stage of construction; the contractor commenced operations, but difficulties regarding supplies, both of materials and labour, eventually forced them to ask to be relieved of the contract; the Board proceeded to carry out the work with direct labour.[8] Towards the end of January 1947, the shortage of steel became acute, followed by greater still reduction in the amount of cement available. As the Board considered it essential not to hamper river traffic more than absolutely necessary, and due to the shortage of materials, it was decided to close the job down temporarily for a year.[8] By June 1948, 76 concrete piles had been completed, and further works constructing piers 3 and 4 were underway.[9] By June 1950, one abutment and three river piers had been completed, and one-third of the formwork had been erected, however while material supplies were again satisfactory, progress had been badly hampered by a continuing shortage of labour,[10] exacerbated by an industrial dispute in 1951 which held up work for a further four months, and the fact one-third of the workforce did not return to the site after the dispute had been settled. Despite this, work had progressed by June 1951 that all five piers had been completed and the formwork for the main span had been half-completed.[11] The super-structure was declared completed in April 1952, with the placing of hand-rails, completion of the deck surface and removal of temporary river supports finished four months later.[12][13]

It was opened for traffic six years later in August 1952.[6][13]

The bridge was upgraded to carry an extra lane of eastbound traffic and new walking and cycling paths in March 2017, including demolishing and replacing the existing outer beams on the northern and southern side of the bridge, relocation of a critical gas main, and installation of feature lighting.[14][15] Originally expected to be completed in September 2017, the project had to be re-designed when the 70-year-old plans for the bridge, specifically its technical drawings, were found to be incorrect.[16] The bridge opened to five lanes' traffic in April 2018,[17] and all remaining major works were eventually completed in September 2018. The upgraded bridge now caters for 30,000 vehicles per day,[14][15] and later won an urban design commendation at the Victorian Architecture Awards in June 2019.[14]

Swan Street Bridge over the Yarra River, before the 2017-8 upgrade