Avon River-Gairdner Street Road Bridge, Northam

Values

The place has historical associations with the early development of Main Roads as a state department after 1915;

The place is associated with the development of Northam during its recovery from the Depression;

The place is associated with the development of the South West region in the early 20th Century.

The place demonstrates the development of bridges, with the current bridge lying on the site of an earlier (1859) bridge.

The place is noted as a local landmark for the community of Northam.

Physical Description

Avon River – Gardiner Street Road Bridge, Northam, is a double lane timber road bridge over the Avon River, located along Newcastle Road within the town site of Northam. The bridge is approximately 153.3 m long, 4.9 m high above the river bed and is 7.8 m wide. The trestle bridge consists of 25 spans constructed between two concrete abutments, although the foundation of these abutments is not apparent. The bridge deck consists of timber planks, still visible from the side of the bridge, set onto a series of timber log stringers. The stringers are in turn bolted onto timber corbels, which rest atop sets of 4 timber log piles upon which the structure rests. The piles are connected via paired timber halfcaps, timber walings and braces, bolted onto the piles. In addition to this, there is a diagonal timber log brace jutting outwards from the outmost timber piles in each group of 4, which provides extra support to the ends of the halfcaps (and thus upper bridge structure). This appears to be later additions built to support a widened bridge. On the southwest face of the bridge, this extended halfcaps and log brace also supports a metal pipe as it crosses the bridge. The surface of the bridge consists of a bituminised road, exposed concrete kerbs with timber handrails affixed to both the kerb and stringers via timber trusses. The bridge surface is divided between the road traffic area and a pedestrian crossing via another series of timber handrails.

History

The Main Roads Board was established in 1926, taking over some of the responsibilities of the Public Works Department. The board was re-established as the Main Roads Department in 1930. Main Roads became an active part of the state’s response to the economic crisis, providing short-term work for unemployed on a variety of infrastructure projects, even while struggling to cut costs and staff within their own structure. These works included road works and bridgeworks, with a focus on the southwest of the state. While timber trestle bridges were a common sight from the early days of the Swan River Colony, the use of concrete for abutments and as a foundation structure was still relatively unknown in the inter-war period. In 1929, the first concrete bridge was constructed over the salt lakes at Mullewa, along the Northam-Goomalling-Mullewa Road. The concrete bridge was reported as ‘the first of its kind in the state,’ although the use of concrete abutments had also been planned in 1928 by Western Australian Government Railway’s Chief Engineer H Cresswell in relation to a rail bridge at Jane Brook. Main Roads played an active part of the state’s response to the Depression of the early 1930s, providing short-term work for unemployed on a variety of infrastructure projects, even while struggling to cut costs and staff within their own structure. These works included road works and bridgeworks, with a focus on the southwest of the state. By the end of the 1930s, improvements in the state economy meant that Main Roads could enact more ambitious projects such as P4027 Fremantle Traffic Bridge & Ferry Capstan Base (RHP) and P16178 Canning Bridge (RHP). In addition, a renewed Federal Aid Roads Agreement in 1937 enabled improvements to the road system in the state’s southwest, including the construction of bridges. Bridges were usually constructed from timber, due to the material being readily available, durable and strong. Main Roads had specialised construction gangs that built bridges, usually to a standard plan. Concrete and steel were often also used as supporting materials. At the Avon River in Northam, an earlier bridge was falling into disrepair by this point. This earlier bridge had been established between main Road and Gardiner Street in 1859, initially noted as a ‘skeleton’ of a bridge with no handrails. The bridge was established by the Northam community after public complaints by farmers about the difficulties in getting fresh produce to the market in Perth. Avon River – Gardiner Street Road Bridge, Northam was completed in June 1939 at Northam, at a cost of £6,000, the bridge replacing the earlier structure that was noted as ‘becoming increasingly dangerous.’ During this time Northam was starting to recover from the effects of the Depression and began new developments such as P1904 Church of Our Lady in Ara Coeli (RHP), P8940 CWA Centre and the establishment of a Northam radio station. With the outbreak of the Second World War, the establishment of army training grounds in the area further fuelled the town’s economy by providing services to the men stationed there. In 1958, Avon River – Gardiner Street Road Bridge, Northam was widened. The motivation for this change in bridge structure is unknown but may be related to Main Road’s involvement with the National Association of Australian State Road Authorities (NAASRA) in 1959. NAAASRA’s purpose was to coordinate a uniform approach to road engineering and included technical committees on bridges. It may also be related to the Brand Government’s emphasis on public works as part of an attempt to stave off recession in 1961. Avon River – Gardiner Street Road Bridge, Northam was further upgraded in 1982 with the addition of the current concrete and bitumen overlay. This may be linked to the Australian Bicentennial Road Development program provided by the Commonwealth Government to upgrade the nation’s roads in preparation for the 1988 bicentenary. In 2015, Main Roads proposed to remove the existing timber decking and concrete overlay to replace with new concrete and guardrail, with new stringers and a cantilevered halfcap extensions on one side of the bridge to support a new footpath. Repairs will also be made to the substructure of the bridge.

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