Tasman Bridge Totally Explained

Everything about The Tasman Bridge totally explained

The Tasman Bridge is a five-lane bridge crossing the Derwent River, near the CBD of Hobart, Tasmania. The bridge has a total length (including approaches) of 1,395 meters (4,576 ft) – longer than the Sydney Harbour Bridge. It provides the main traffic route from the CBD (on the western shore) to the eastern shore - particularly Hobart International Airport and Bellerive Oval. It has a pedestrian foot way on each side, but no dedicated lane for bicycles. However, steps to the pedestrian foot way have recently been replaced with on-ramps.

History

In the 1950's with the development of the Eastern shore (the old Hobart Bridge faced increasing difficulty in managing the larger volumes of traffic, and the bridge itself - constantly raising the lift span for shipping) it was decided to build a larger bridge. The total cost of the new bridge in conjunction with approach ramps and Lindisfarne interchange was in the area of £7,000,000.00. Construction commenced in May, 1960 and the bridge was first opened to traffic (2 lanes only) on August 18, 1964. The bridge was completed with all four lanes operational on December 23 1964. It was officially opened on March 18, 1965 by H. R. H. Prince Richard, The Duke of Gloucester. During peak construction a labor force of over 400 men was employed on site.
   The depth of the river at this point (35 metres (115 ft)) is such that the wreck of Lake Illawarra lies on the bottom, with concrete slab on top of it, without presenting a navigation hazard to smaller vessels.
   The breakage of an important arterial link isolated the residents in Hobart’s eastern suburbs – the relatively short drive across the Tasman Bridge to the city suddenly became a 50 kilometre (31 mi) journey via the estuary's next bridge at Bridgewater. The only other vehicular crossing within Hobart after the bridge collapsed was the Risdon Punt, a cable ferry which crossed the river from East Risdon and Risdon, some five kilometers upstream from the bridge. However, it was totally inadequate, carrying only eight cars on each crossing, and although ferries provided a service across the Derwent River, it wasn't until December 1975 that a single lane Bailey bridge was opened to traffic, thereby restoring some connectivity.
   The separation of Hobart saw an immediate surge in the small and limited ferry service then operating across the river

Reconstruction

Reconstruction of the Tasman Bridge commenced in October 1975. An important factor of the reconstruction is the improved safety measures. Some examples:

Large vessels passing beneath the bridge must now do so slightly to the west of the original main navigation span.
Personnel controlling ships (or harbor pilots) must be trained and then cleared for using the special laser lighthouse that indicates by colors whether the ship must be steered left or right to regain the centre line.
All road traffic is now halted whilst large vessels transit beneath the bridge. On top of these new safety measures implemented, the bridge was further upgraded to hold a fifth lane. This upgrade included the construction of lane management systems which would enable the new middle lane to function as a Reversible lane. The system is comprised of a traffic light system and sign above each lane, pictured right. The signs, in conjunction with the traffic light system, employ a pulley system to periodically pull the signs over their appropriate lanes.

The middle lane points toward the city side (or western shore) during a.m. peak hours and points back toward the eastern shore during p.m. peak hours. The lane generally points toward the eastern shore during non-peak hours. The Tasman Bridge repair took two years and cost approximately $44 million. The bridge officially reopened on October 8, 1977.

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