Albion Viaduct

{{Use Australian English|date=August 2019}} {{Use dmy dates|date=July 2019}} {{Infobox bridge | bridge_name = Maribyrnong River Viaduct | native_name = | native_name_lang = | image = Albion Viaduct.jpg | image_size = | alt = | caption = Bridge viewed from the Eastern Lookout | official_name = | other_name = | carries = | crosses = | locale = | owner = | maint = | id = | website = | architect = | designer = | engineering = | design = | material = | length = {{convert|383|m|ft|abbr=on}} | width = | height = {{convert|55|m|ft|abbr=on}} | mainspan = | spans = | pierswater = | load = | clearance = | below = | life = | builder = Victorian Railways Construction Branch | fabricator = | begin = 1927<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article206167806 |title=Albion Viaduct: Beams Arriving for Big Railway Works. |newspaper=The Age |issue=22,563 |location=Victoria, Australia |date=30 July 1927 |access-date=23 April 2017 |page=16 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref> | complete = {{Start date|1929|06}} | cost = | open = | inaugurated = | toll = | traffic = | preceded = | followed = | heritage = | collapsed = | closed = | replaces = | map_cue = | map_image = | map_alt = | map_text = | map_width = | coordinates = {{coord|37|44|53.0|S|144|50|43.8|E|type:landmark_region:AU-VIC|display=title,inline}} | lat = | long = | references = | extra = }} The '''Maribyrnong River Viaduct''' (also known locally as the '''Quarter Mile Bridge''') carries the Albion–Jacana railway line across the Maribyrnong River in the western suburbs of Melbourne, Australia. It is located near the E J Whitten Bridge, and is almost 400 metres long (hence the Quarter Mile name).

It was built in 1927–29 by the Victorian Railways Construction Branch, being the largest trestle bridge in Australia when completed in June, 1929.<ref name="arhsb">Payne, Bruce, "Albion Viaduct on the Broadmeadows to Albion Line" Australian Railway Historical Society Bulletin, May, 2003 p 186.</ref> Until the completion of the Sydney Harbour Bridge, the viaduct was also the highest railway bridge in Australia. It employed 200 people during its construction, with one fatality, and is listed on the Victorian Heritage Register.<ref>{{cite VHD|4910|Rail Bridge (Albion Viaduct)|hr=1197|ho=107}}</ref>

With a length of {{convert|383|m|ft|abbr=on}}, and a height of {{convert|55|m|ft|abbr=on}} above the water level,<ref name=arhsb /> it is the second-highest bridge in Victoria after the West Gate Bridge, which is 58 metres high.

The main traffic over the bridge is freight services, but it also carries two passenger services, the Melbourne to Sydney NSW TrainLink XPT, and the Melbourne-Albury V/Line service which now runs on standard gauge.

An internal and external walkway spans the length of the bridge on both sides.

== References == {{reflist}}

== Notes == * [https://web.archive.org/web/20080808062436/http://mvcc.vic.gov.au/Files/PB_2007_Gap_Heritage_Study_Vol_2.pdf City of Moonee Valley Gap Heritage Study] * {{cite web |url=http://www.historyvictoria.org.au/pdf/questions.pdf |title=The Railway Top 20! |work=History Victoria |publisher=www.historyvictoria.org.au |access-date=2008-03-30 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080719030654/http://www.historyvictoria.org.au/pdf/questions.pdf |archive-date=2008-07-19 }} * {{Cite AHPI|VICH1197|Maribyrnong River Viaduct|accessdate=2008-08-08}}

== External links == * [https://museumsvictoria.com.au/railways/theme.aspx?lvl=3&IRN=473&gall=587 Images from the construction of the bridge, 1928]

Category:Bridges in Melbourne Category:Heritage-listed buildings in Melbourne Category:1929 establishments in Australia Category:Railway bridges in Victoria (state) Category:Bridges completed in 1929 Category:Buildings and structures in the City of Brimbank Category:Buildings and structures in the City of Moonee Valley Category:Transport in the City of Moonee Valley Category:Maribyrnong River Category:Transport in the City of Brimbank