Morpeth Bridge

About

Morpeth Bridge is a heritage-listed road bridge over the Hunter River at Morpeth, New South Wales, Australia. It was designed by Percy Allan and built from 1896 to 1898 by Samuel McGill. It is also known as Morpeth Bridge over the Hunter River. The property is owned by Transport for NSW. Opened on 15 June 1898, the Morpeth Bridge is a timber trestle bridge employing Allan trusses. It has two central iron cylinder span supports fabricated by Mort's Dock & Engineering Company. It is managed by Transport for NSW. The bridge was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 20 June 2000.

Morpeth was part of a land grant made to Lieutenant Edward Charles Close by Governor Brisbane in 1821. Influenced by its desirable location on the Hunter River and the realisation of the area's immense potential, by the 1830s Morpeth had evolved from a riverside forest to a frontier town and busy river port. During its time as a major agricultural and industrial hub Morpeth contributed to the development of the entire Hunter Valley. A punt service was established across the river from Queen's Wharf to Phoenix Park and Hinton to the north.

Local lobbying for a bridge over the Hunter River at Morpeth began as early as March 1885, when the Morpeth Progress Committee drafted a petition calling for the construction of a bridge across the Hunter to connect with Phoenix Park to the north. By August 1885 the local member, Robert Wisdom proposed that the community should request that the Department of Public Works construct two bridges (the second being over the Paterson River at Hinton ) which would better serve the people of the region as it would:

"supply a long necessary public want to the residents of Morpeth, Hinton, Seaham, Clarence Town, East and West Maitland and surrounding districts..."

Tenders for the construction of the Morpeth Bridge over the Hunter River were called for in the Government Gazette in June 1896. The call requested tenders for the:

"erection of a Timber truss Bridge on Iron Piers over the Hunter River at Morpeth; also alternative tenders for a bridge with composite Truss spans on Timber Piers."

In August 1896 it was announced that the tender was won by S. McGill of Inverell. The estimated cost of its construction was £9,000, the actual final cost was £9,239/11/5. Construction was delayed in part by flooding along the Hunter River which occurred in February on 1897; as a result of this flooding scaffolding erected for the bridge was washed away.

The Morpeth Bridge was opened in June 1898. It, along with the then proposed Hinton Bridge over the Paterson River, was intended to provide a route between Morpeth, Hinton, Wallalong, Phoenix Park and Largs. The bridge replaced a hand-powered punt and was built as a National Work. The bridge opening ceremony was attended by J.H. Young, the Colonial Secretary and several Members of Parliament. Attendees from the general public were reminded during the accompanying speeches that they were, to a degree, indebted to their political representatives for the existence of the Bridge, and that they could repay the debt by voting accordingly at the then upcoming general elections. The Bridge opening was described as a "very successful and enjoyable one" - entertainment included the Morpeth Brass band and a long procession of school children.

The Bridge was described as consisting of:

"three timber truss spans, of 100ft. 3in. each, resting on iron cylinder river piers and timber land piers, with fourteen timber beam spans of 35 feet each, extending on a grade 1 to 30 to the low-lying lands of Phoenix Park. The roadway is 18 feet in width, and in order to clear the tramway on the Morpeth side it was necessary to keep the Bridge 16 feet above flood level."

The bridge was considered by the Department of Public Works to be an important construction, and it was noted in the annual report for 1898 that the "question of affording access to the town of Morpeth from the low-lying lands of Phoenix Park had long been under consideration". A photograph of the bridge was included with the Annual Report for 1898 showing the three truss spans and iron cylinder piers. As a result of the erection of the Bridge, navigation of the Hunter River above the Bridge was limited and Queens Wharf in Morpeth fell into disrepair.

The bridge has three 33.6-metre (110 ft) timber Allan truss spans, flanked by timber beam spans supporting concrete decking units. The roadway width is 5.5 metres (18 ft) and the main spans are supported on twin iron cylinder piers. The approaches have timber piers.

Some of the features of the modified Howe truss developed by Allan are the use of paired timber elements throughout, which allowed any component to be replaced while the bridge remained in service, without the need to temporarily prop the trusses from below. The truss consists of timber top and bottom chords, timber compression diagonals and tension rods as verticals; the tension rods could be used to adjust the geometry and counteract shrinkage. Furthermore, cast-iron shoes at all joints ensured proper truss action and a good transfer of member forces at the joints.

Allan's design was lighter and more economical than the McDonald truss it replaced. They were also designed to be more accessible for painting and repair, and to use shorter lengths of timber which were much easier to obtain and to manoeuvre during construction.

Evidence of former Morpeth branch railway line may be present in the vicinity of span 1 on the Morpeth town side.

There has been a continual replacement process of defective timbers over the lifetime of the bridge; however it can be considered as having its original fabric.

Between 2008 and 2011 the bridge was upgraded by RMS to increase the load capacity in line with current traffic requirements. The timber planking on the truss spans and approach spans was replaced with Stress Laminated Timber decking and concrete decking units respectively. The timber ordinance railing was replaced with a visually similar steel railing in order to comply with current safety codes. The seven northernmost approach spans were replaced with a raised embankment delineated by textured concrete retaining walls. Flood evacuation stairs were removed from Pier 13 and reinstated at Pier 9 in 2013.

Architectural lighting was installed in 2021 ahead of the Morpeth Bicentenary. The lights were turned on for the first time on 20 November 2021. The lights are switched on nightly 60 minutes before sunset until 10:30pm.

The lights are able to be set to various lighting sequences based on nominated commemorative days and events.

There are concerns about modern heavy truck loads on the bridge, as those loads exceed what was expected when the bridge was originally designed.