Hinton Bridge over Paterson River

About

The Hinton Bridge over Paterson River is a heritage-listed road bridge that carrier the Hinton-Morpeth Road across the Paterson River at Hinton, New South Wales, Australia. The bridge was designed by Ernest de Burgh and built in 1901. The bridge is owned by Transport for NSW. The bridge was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 20 June 2000.

Timber truss road bridges have played a significant role in the expansion and improvement of the NSW road network. Prior to the bridges being built, river crossings were often dangerous in times of rain, which caused bulk freight movement to be prohibitively expensive for most agricultural and mining produce. Only the high priced wool clip of the time was able to carry the costs and inconvenience imposed by the generally inadequate river crossings that often existed prior to the trusses construction.

Timber truss bridges were preferred by the Public Works Department from the mid 19th to the early 20th century because they were relatively cheap to construct, and used mostly local materials. The financially troubled governments of the day applied pressure to the Public Works Department to produce as much road and bridge work for as little cost as possible, using local materials. This condition effectively prohibited the use of iron and steel, as these, prior to the construction of the steel works at Newcastle in the early 20th century, had to be imported from England.

Allan trusses were the first truly scientifically engineered timber truss bridges, and incorporate American design ideas for the first time. This is a reflection of the changing mindset of the NSW people, who were slowly accepting that American ideas could be as good as or better than European ones. The high quality and low cost of the Allan truss design entrenched the dominance of timber truss bridges for NSW roads for the next 30 years.

Percy Allan, the designer of Allan truss and other bridges, was a senior engineer of the Public Works Department, and a prominent figure in late 19th century NSW.

Timber truss bridges, and timber bridges generally were so common that NSW was known to travellers as the "timber bridge state".

The bridge project to replace the existing steam ferry was initiated in 1898, when a contract of was let for its construction for A£ 9,845. A further project of 2,200 metres (110 chains) of road to connect the new bridge to the Morpeth Bridge was initiated in the same year. The contractor for the work was S. McGill, the same contractor as the Morpeth Bridge. The iron and steel work was provided by Messrs. Pope, Maher and Company, and the steel ropes for the lifting span manufactured by Messrs. Bullivant and Co.

The bridge was designed by Ernest de Burgh, Assistant Engineer for Bridges in the Public Works department, under the direction of Under-Secretary for Public Works and Commissioner for Roads Hickson. It was designed to allow for a clear opening for river traffic of 15.37 metres (50 ft 5 in) when opened, and to be able to be raised to give a headway of 7.77 metres (25 ft 6 in) above flood, or 14 metres (45 ft) above high water.

The lifting span was fixed in position in 1940.

Timber truss road bridges have played a significant role in the expansion and improvement of the NSW road network. Prior to the bridges being built, river crossings were often dangerous in times of rain, which caused bulk freight movement to be prohibitively expensive for most agricultural and mining produce. Only the high priced wool clip of the time was able to carry the costs and inconvenience imposed by the generally inadequate river crossings that often existed prior to the trusses construction.

Timber truss bridges were preferred by the Public Works Department from the mid 19th to the early 20th century because they were relatively cheap to construct, and used mostly local materials. The financially troubled governments of the day applied pressure to the Public Works Department to produce as much road and bridge work for as little cost as possible, using local materials. This condition effectively prohibited the use of iron and steel, as these, prior to the construction of the steel works at Newcastle in the early 20th century, had to be imported from England.

Allan trusses were the first truly scientifically engineered timber truss bridges, and incorporate American design ideas for the first time. This is a reflection of the changing mindset of the NSW people, who were slowly accepting that American ideas could be as good as or better than European ones. The high quality and low cost of the Allan truss design entrenched the dominance of timber truss bridges for NSW roads for the next 30 years.

Percy Allan, the designer of Allan truss and other bridges, was a senior engineer of the Public Works Department, and a prominent figure in late 19th century NSW.

Timber truss bridges, and timber bridges generally were so common that NSW was known to travellers as the "timber bridge state".

The bridge project to replace the existing steam ferry was initiated in 1898, when a contract of was let for its construction for A£ 9,845. A further project of 2,200 metres (110 chains) of road to connect the new bridge to the Morpeth Bridge was initiated in the same year. The contractor for the work was S. McGill, the same contractor as the Morpeth Bridge. The iron and steel work was provided by Messrs. Pope, Maher and Company, and the steel ropes for the lifting span manufactured by Messrs. Bullivant and Co.

The bridge was designed by Ernest de Burgh, Assistant Engineer for Bridges in the Public Works department, under the direction of Under-Secretary for Public Works and Commissioner for Roads Hickson. It was designed to allow for a clear opening for river traffic of 15.37 metres (50 ft 5 in) when opened, and to be able to be raised to give a headway of 7.77 metres (25 ft 6 in) above flood, or 14 metres (45 ft) above high water.

The lifting span was fixed in position in 1940.

Hinton bridge is an Allan-type timber truss road bridge. It has two external timber truss spans, each of 28 metres (92 ft) and one internal steel truss lift span of 17.8 metres (58 ft). There are seven timber approach spans at one end and three at the other giving the bridge an overall length of 178.6 metres (586 ft).

The bridge is 14.3 metres (47 ft) above the high water line and the centre lift span previously rose another 7.9 metres (26 ft). The lifting span was fixed in position in 1940 as the need for river steamers ceased.

The internal lift span is supported by twin cast iron cylinders. The timber truss spans are supported by timber trestles. The superstructure provides a carriageway with a minimum width of 5.1m. Guard rails are of post and rail construction over the approach and timber truss spans.