New England Online > Geography > Transport > Bridges > Grafton Bridge
Grafton Bridge
| Grafton Bridge | |
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| Opened: | 1932 |
| Carries: | A3 Road Main Eastern Line |
| Crosses: | Clarence River |
| Locale: | Grafton |
The Grafton Bridge is a bascule bridge which spans the Clarence River at Grafton. The bridge is the longest in New England, and with both rail and road carriageways, is also one of the more unique. Built in the 1920s and 30s, the bridge was first opened in 1932.
A bridge over the Clarence River in Grafton was first conceived in 1915. The original design called for a railway bridge with a footway, but in 1922 the design was changed to accommodate vehicular traffic as well. There was provision for a second track across the bridge, which was constructed in 2018 to ease rail flows to the Port of Yamba. With the decline in shipping along the Clarence River, the opening span was sealed shut and it can no longer be opened.
Local legend has it that the roadway across the top of the bridge was originally to connect with Pound St. According to the tale a local councilor of the time owned a hotel On Fitzroy St and wouldn't support the bridge until it was amended to connect with Fitzroy street directing traffic past his establishment, hence the unique kink in the northern roadway ramp.
Regardless of the truth of the legend, a more practical explantion for the kinks either side of the bridge is that the roadway has to clear the railway line below it, necessitating the bends in the bridge. The bends themselves present something of a dangerous situation for wide vehicles attempting to cross the bridge, and for travellers unaccustomed to the nuisance, which locals navigate at some speed, since the high iron sides of the narrow bridge obscur vision and threaten to prevent traffic flow if encountered by the vehicle. At least some reassurance could once have been taken from the solid appearance, but in later days, this rickety-looking rivetted, rusting hulk rising to fill the view through the windshield adds no confidence.
| Crossings of the Clarence River | ||
| (Upstream) Susan Island Footbridge |
Grafton Bridge | (Downstream) Elizabeth Island Bridge |
| Major Bridges of New England |
| Grafton Bridge |
