Abandoned But Not Forgotten

Bridge over Percival Creek south of Pyalong - Heathcote Junction to Bendigo Line.

Hooray, finally able to break out of the COVID restrictions, and get on the road again. It has been so long, I forgot how to perform some of the trickier drone maneuvers and also the editing of this blog.

But finally able to go out with the express purpose of investigating this very interesting bridge.  I found this bridge originally using Google Earth, by speculating that there should be a bridge  at this location, even though the aerial view did not clearly show one there. The fact that there was a creek here pointed to the possibility of a bridge, but it could not be seen.

By using Google Earth instead of the normal Google Maps view, there is a history tool that allows you to rewind the date of the aerial views, and when I wound it back, lo and behold, there was the bridge. As it turns out, a long held friend of mine, John, moved to Pyalong earlier this year, and I was able to get him to affirm the presence of the bridge.

The bridge is quite substantial, it is an estimated 85 Metres long with 19 openings, and is actually in better condition than the better-known bridge over Mollison's Creek, in town. The date on the timbers at the north end suggest that the last maintenance work was carried out in 1949. Like all abandoned wooden bridges, the deck timbers have rotted through in a about 3 places (at time of examination) and there are prominent signs posted warning people not to walk under the structure, plus wire barriers at the abutments to try and keep people off the deck. Otherwise, the bridge is more or less intact.

The people on the adjacent property on the west side claim that they lease the land that the bridge is on, and are a bit sensitive about people wandering onto the site. We found a convenient parking spot on the highway within about 100 Metres of the bridge, just next to an 'Overtaking Lane 400M' sign. 

The following photos are taken at the north end of the bridge on the west side, looking back towards Heathcote Junction.