Ryde Bridge

Went for a an early morning ride this morning. It was forecast to be hot and windy later in the day so I dressed to suit the prediction and it was freezing!

This photo of Ryde Bridge is very close to where I took the one of Meadowbank Railway Bridge.

Ryde Bridge is now two bridges but the nearest one was built by Ryde Council and opened on 7th December, 1935. In the Sydney Morning Herald at the time a claim was made that it was the largest project undertaken by a council in New South Wales. Ryde Council received a job creation grant of 53,000 pounds from the NSW Government to assist with the funding of the 80,000 pound project. Apparently the project came in 10,000 pounds under budget. Some were left wondering where this saving ended up! A toll was collected on the bridge for 13 years to repay the loan taken out by Ryde Council, when the loan was repaid the bridge was taken over by the Dept. of Main Roads.
Originally the bridge opened to allow boats carry timber to pass through but this mechanism has now been removed.

A very similar bridge exists at Hexham on the Hunter River.

A second bridge was opened in 1988 to increase the road traffic to six lanes.