Paringa Bridge

The Paringa Bridge carries the Sturt Highway across the Murray River in Paringa, South Australia. Until 1982, it also carried the Barmera railway line.

Paringa Bridge
Coordinates34°11′S 140°47′E
CarriesBarmera railway line (until 1982)
Sturt Highway
CrossesMurray River
LocaleParinga, South Australia
Maintained byDepartment of Planning, Transport & Infrastructure
Characteristics
DesignVertical-lift
Total length173 metres
History
Opened31 January 1927
Closed7 March 1984 (rail only)
Location

The bridge consists of a vertical-lift span 78 feet (24 m) long which can rise 30 feet (9.1 m) in one and a half minutes. There are three Pratt truss spans of 112.5 feet (34.3 m), and a plate girder span at each end.[1] It was designed by the South Australian Railways (SAR) and fabricated by Perry Engineering of Adelaide. It opened on 31 January 1927.[2][3] It was built as a road-rail bridge with both the Sturt Highway and Barmera railway lines using the same reservation.[4] Maintenance cost were shared equally between the SAR and Highways department.[5]

Subsequently, road lanes were added on either side to segregate the road and rail traffic.[4] The last train crossed the bridge on 21 May 1982 with the line beyond Renmark formally closed on 7 March 1984.[6] The railway tracks were removed in 1986 and the centre reservation converted to a shared pedestrian and cycle path.[7]

The vertical-lift span is opened twice a day for river traffic.[8]

The bridge was listed as a State Heritage Place on the South Australian Heritage Register on 29 June 1989.[4]

References
  1. "Paringa, SA". Aussie Towns. Paringa Suspension Bridge. Retrieved 19 January 2020.
  2. The Paringa Bridge Adelaide Advertiser 31 January 1927 page 8
  3. "Renmark's Great Day" South Australian Register 1 February 1927 page 9
  4. Paringa Bridge South Australia Heritage Places
  5. Road-Rail Bridge at Paringa Keeping Track issue 71 April 1974 page 1
  6. "Here & There" Australian Railway Historical Society Bulletin issue 561 July 1984 page 63
  7. "The Paringa Lift Span Bridge" Australian Railway Historical Society Bulletin issue 726 April 1998 pages 139-142
  8. Paringa Bridge lifting span operational again for River Murray traffic Department of Planning, Transport & Infrastructure 30 May 2015

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