Wonthaggi Branch - Bridge 16 Powlett River

I thought this bridge was a quite interesting one, in terms of the construction. I doubt it is the original bridge at this location due to the amount of steel used in it's construction. I also note that there appear to be remains of piles in the river on the South side of the bridge, possibly from the original bridge. The bridge is almost exactly 100 Metres long, but I was not able to determine the exact number of openings. It crosses a small creek feeding into the Powlett River at this point, as well as the river itself.

The construction is interesting, as you can see in the photographs, consisting of 4 steel longitudinal I-beams, each overlapped and sitting on top of the steel crossheads. The crossheads, in turn, sit on four cap plates, braced and bolted to the tops of the piles. Below the piles, a cross piece, possibly known as a Wailer, ties the four piles together.

Across the mud flats, the two outer piles at each pier are placed vertically, however across the river, the more conventional inclined outer piles are used, possibly to counter the accumulation of floating debris.

View across the deck, looking East, or to the Down end. It is possible to actually drive your car right up to the spot where I took this photo.

View from underneath the deck at the down abutment, showing the unusual pier construction.

Close-up of the steelwork underneath the deck.

Possibly a rather pointless shot, but shows the small creek in the foreground.

View of the North side of the bridge, looking East.

 

View of the South side of the bridge, looking East. The piles that remain from a previous bridge (?) are just visible oin the water to the right of the bridge, on the far side of the river.