South Gippsland Railway Line - Tarwin River Bridge at Meeniyan

Tarwin River Bridge at Meeniyan. Since the line was closed, the ROW has been converted to The Great Southern Rail Trail, a rather ambitious project covering 68Km from Leongatha to Welshpool. The rail bridge at Meeniyan has been closed and barricaded off for safety reasons and a new steel walkway constructed alongside it. The original bridge is 225 Metres long across the main arm of the Tarwin River and its surrounding floodplains.

This shot shows the barricade at the Up end, with the steel walkway beside it. The deck is a transverse timber type, and is in reasonably good condition, although there are a few rotten timbers among them..

View from the opposite side. The area below is well fenced with multiple strands of high barbed wire and a hot wire to boot, in order to discourage trespassers.

In this shot, the deck is sagging on the left side just where the foliage envelopes it, this is a result of a pile that is sinking under it.

There is a fair amount of debris piled up against the piles in the river. Stay piles have been used here, possibly due to the soft soil. Notice that the right pile of the trestle in the middle of the river has broken off above the water line.

 

The section from the river to the Down abutment with the refuge visible.

Looking back from the Down end, West towards Koonwarra.

And the opposite side of the bridge in the same direction.

A better view of the debris piled up against the bridge. I was told this happened during recent minor flooding of the river and has not yet been cleared.