{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2020}} {{Use Australian English|date=April 2020}} {{Infobox bridge | name = Taemas Bridge | native_name = | native_name_lang = | image = Taemas Bridge, NSW, from north.jpg | image_upright = 1.5 | alt = | caption = | coordinates = {{Coord|-35.0033516|148.8481164|region:AU-NSW_type:landmark|display=inline,title|format=dms}} | os_grid_reference = | qid = | refs = | carries = Wee Jasper Road {{bulleted list|[[Motor vehicle]]s only}} | crosses = [[Murrumbidgee River]] | locale = near [[Wee Jasper]], [[Yass Valley Council]], [[New South Wales]], Australia | starts = Taemas | ends = [[Cavan, New South Wales]] | official_name = Taemas Bridge over Murrumbidgee River | other_name = RTA Bridge No. 6629 | named_for = | owner = [[Transport for NSW]] | maint = | heritage = | id = | id_type = | website = | preceded = | followed = | design = [[Truss bridge|Truss]] | material = Steel | material1 = [[Reinforced concrete]] | material2 = Concrete | length = {{convert|200|m}} | width = {{convert|5.5|m}} | height = | depth = | traversable = | towpath = | mainspan = {{convert|45.7|m}} | number_spans = 4 main, 2 approaches | piers_in_water = | load = | clearance_above = | clearance_below = | lanes = Two | life = | first_length = | first_diameter = | second_length = | second_diameter = | third_length = | third_diameter = | capacity = | num_track = | track_gauge = | structure_gauge = | electrification = | architect = | designer = | contracted_designer = | winner = | engineering = | builder = {{ubl|[[Tulloch Limited|Tulloch Ironworks]]|[[Braas Monier Building Group|Monier Pipe and Reinforced Concrete Works]]}} | fabricator = [[Dorman Long|Dorman Long & Co]] | begin = | complete = | cost = [[Australian pound|A£]]60,895 | open = 1931<!-- or | opening = --> | inaugurated = | rebuilt = | collapsed = | closed = {{bulleted list|Taemas Bridge (1888-1925) (MacDonald truss)|''Temporary'' [[Cable ferry|punt]] (1925-1929)|Low-level bridge (1929)|''Temporary'' punt (1929-1931)}} | replaced_by = | traffic = | toll = | mapframe = yes | mapframe-zoom = 14 | mapframe-width = | mapframe-height = | mapframe-marker = | mapframe-marker-color = | mapframe-lat = | mapframe-long = | references = <ref name="NSWSHR">{{cite NSW SHR|4305028|Taemas Bridge over Murrumbidgee River|date=18 August 2005|access-date=7 April 2020}}</ref> | extra = <!-- extra = module = embed = --> {{Designation list | embed = yes | designation1 = New South Wales State Heritage Register | designation1_offname = Taemas Bridge over Murrumbidgee River; RTA Bridge No. 6629 | designation1_type = State agency heritage (built) | designation1_date = 18 August 2005 | designation1_criteria = [[New South Wales State Heritage Register#Criteria|a., c., d., g.]] | delisted1_date = | designation1_partof = | designation1_number = {{Cite Legislation AU |NSW|act|ha197786|Heritage Act, 1977|170}} | designation1_free1name = Type | designation1_free1value = Road Bridge | designation1_free2name = Category | designation1_free2value = Transport - Land | designation1_free3name = Builders | designation1_free3value = {{ubl|[[Tulloch Limited|Tulloch Ironworks]]|[[Braas Monier Building Group|Monier Pipe and Reinforced Concrete Works]]}} }} }}
The '''Taemas Bridge''' is a two-lane [[road bridge]] that carries the Wee Jasper Road across the [[Murrumbidgee River]], at the settlement of Taemas, near [[Wee Jasper]] in the [[Yass Valley Council]] local government area of [[New South Wales]], [[Australia]]. The bridge crosses on the river just before it enters Lake Burrinjuck, which has been created by the [[Burrinjuck Dam]]. The bridge is a key part of the road between [[Yass, New South Wales|Yass]] and Wee Jasper, and from there, to [[Tumut]]. The bridge is located approximately {{convert|26|km}} from Yass and {{convert|22|km}} from Wee Jasper. The property is owned by [[Transport for NSW]]. Under the {{Cite Legislation AU |NSW|act|ha197786|Heritage Act, 1977|170}}, the bridge was added to the [[New South Wales State Heritage Register|New South Wales State agency heritage register]] on 18 August 2005.<ref name="NSWSHR"/>
== History == A metal MacDonald [[truss bridge]], also known as the Taemas Bridge, was built {{circa|1888}}, located {{convert|2|mi|km|0|order=flip}} downriver from the existing Taemas Bridge.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.rta.nsw.gov.au/cgi-bin/index5a7d.html |archive-url=https://webarchive.nla.gov.au/awa/20101115130400/http://pandora.nla.gov.au/pan/110582/20101116-0004/www.rta.nsw.gov.au/cgi-bin/index5a7d.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=15 November 2010 |title=Taemas Bridge over Murrumbidgee River |work=RTA Heritage and Conservation Register |access-date=13 January 2013}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://acms.sl.nsw.gov.au/item/itemDetailPaged.aspx?itemID=205147# |title=Photo of old Taemas Bridge in 1915 |access-date=13 January 2013}}</ref> In {{circa|1924}} this bridge was raised {{convert|15|ft|m|0|order=flip}} and extended to {{convert|885|ft|m|0|order=flip}} with the addition of numerous timber approach [[Span (architecture)|spans]] by the Water Conservation and Irrigation Commission in association with the construction of [[Burrinjuck Dam]]. This bridge was destroyed by a flood in May 1925. The local member of the NSW Parliament, [[Jack Tully]], promised to have the destroyed Taemas Bridge replaced as soon as possible.<ref name="NSWSHR"/> In the interim, the [[NSW Public Works|NSW Public Works Department]] (PWD) established a [[Cable ferry|punt]] service adjacent to the destroyed bridge until such time as a new bridge could be constructed.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article1207287 |title=Taemas Bridge to be Rebuilt |work=[[The Canberra Times]]|date=24 September 1926 |page=9 |via=Trove, [[National Library of Australia]] }}</ref> The punt remained in operation for almost four years later, until it was swept away in April 1929.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article16551862 |title=Graziers Requests |work=[[The Sydney Morning Herald]] |date=27 July 1929 |page=12 |via=Trove, [[National Library of Australia]] }}</ref> A low-level bridge was constructed in 1929, but the water rose and destroyed it that same year. In July 1929, another punt was then established to provide alternative access, and was worked hard carrying wool and other produce.<ref name="NSWSHR"/>
== Description == The site of the current Taemas Bridge was selected by the Public Works Department and is located approximately {{convert|3|km|mi|0}} upriver from the former bridge site. This led to a longer road route, yet enabled a shorter bridge to be constructed in a location were flood levels were expected to be lower. The current bridge was completed in 1931 and is over {{convert|200|m}} long.<ref name="NSWSHR"/> [[File:Wee Jasper Road, Bridge over Murrumbidgee river 01.jpg|thumb|left|The centre of the bridge]]
After several years of inaction, the [[Goodradigbee Shire|Goodradigbee]] and [[Municipality of Yass|Yass]] councils organised a protest meeting, and the [[Government of New South Wales|NSW Government]] asked [[Tulloch Limited|Tulloch's Phoenix Ironworks]] in [[Sydney]] to order steel for the bridge. Steel members show rolling marks of [[Dorman Long|Dorman Long & Co]], so were presumably imported from [[Middlesbrough]], England. [[Braas Monier Building Group|Monier Pipe and Reinforced Concrete Works]] constructed piers and installed the bridge. Once constructed, Gilroy and Robson Ltd gravelled the bridge approaches ready for opening.<ref name="NSWSHR"/>
This two-lane steel through truss bridge spans the Murrumbidgee River in the upper reaches of the Burrinjuck Dam storage. Its height has been set to clear the large floods to which the valley is subjected (and which destroyed its predecessor).<ref name="NSWSHR"/>
The bridge has four main spans and two approach spans. Approach spans are supported by six {{convert|13.7|m|ft|0|adj=on}} longitudinal steel beams (or stringers) which in turn support a [[reinforced concrete]] deck. There are cross girders at midspan to stabilise the beams. The main spans are {{convert|45.7|m|ft|0}}, having eight bays in a [[Pratt truss]] configuration. Connections are by riveting, and the trusses make extensive use of lattice bracing to produce compound members. Tension members are stabilised by riveted Vierendeel plates.<ref name="NSWSHR"/>
The comparatively narrow {{convert|5.5|m|ft|0|adj=on}} deck of the bridge is unsurfaced concrete, edged by kerbs with pipe handrails with infill wire netting.<ref name="NSWSHR"/>
The substantial piers have two cylindrical legs founded on rock with up to three lateral tie beams. The lower sections bell out to larger diameter below the bottom cross beam. Above the upper cross beam the columns are capped with octagonal capitals which support the bridge bearings which are of rocker type.<ref name="NSWSHR"/>
Monumental style is used in the abutments which are of U shape, but with bold corners capped with imposing endposts. The side faces of the abutment and endposts are inclined.<ref name="NSWSHR"/>
The bridge was opened in 1931 and cost [[Australian pound|A£]]60,895. Even after the new bridge was opened some locals still [[Ford (crossing)|forded]] the river near the former bridge if they could, to save petrol from the extra distance required by road to reach the new bridge.<ref name="NSWSHR"/> There is a carpark at the southern end of the bridge, from which the Murrumbidgee River can be accessed.
== Heritage listing == [[File:Taemas Bridge.jpg|thumb|left|The southern end of the bridge]] The Taemas Bridge has historical, social, technical, aesthetic and representative significance within the Yass-Tumut-Yarrowlumla-Gundagai area. It has provided a crossing of a major waterway, the Murrumbidgee River, for over seventy years and its long term reliability has facilitated the agricultural activities and economies of the surrounding areas. The history of transport in the region has been shaped by the Murrumbidgee and the difficulty of providing crossings of this large and flood prone waterway. The bridge represents a significant technical achievement, its robust design and its positioning, with the site of the former crossing downstream and documentary sources, demonstrate the intelligence, effort and investment required to construct a lasting and reliable crossing of this major and dynamic waterway. The bridge is of aesthetic significance, being an impressive structure of considerable length crossing a major waterway and having landmark qualities on the Yass-Tumut road. The monumental style of the abutments reflects the importance ascribed to the crossing by the Public Works Department and the community. The bridge has local social significance. The loss of the previous bridge in record flood was a major blow to the local community using this important transport and communication route. The community was involved in the debate surrounding the siting of the existing bridge, and continued to express dismay at the lengthy delay in its construction. The bridge is a landmark to which local travellers are likely to attach a sense of place and self. The bridge is a good, intact example of large scale truss design in the early to mid twentieth century.<ref name="NSWSHR"/>
Taemas Bridge over Murrumbidgee River was listed on the [[New South Wales State Heritage Register|New South Wales State agency heritage register]] on 18 August 2005 having satisfied the following criteria.<ref name="NSWSHR"/>
'''The place is important in demonstrating the course, or pattern, of cultural or natural history in New South Wales.'''
Taemas Bridge is historically significant as an important transport link in the State's south west. It has provided a reliable crossing of a major waterway, the Murrumbidgee River, between the districts of Yass and Tumut for over seventy years. The history of transport in the region has been shaped by the Murrumbidgee and the difficulty of providing crossings of this large and flood prone waterway. The story of the Taemas Bridge, a long-awaited replacement of an equally ambitious bridge washed away in flood, is articulate about the interaction between the communities of the Yass-Tumut area and their environment and also about the efforts and strategies of the government in providing reliable access on important rural transport routes in NSW. The long term reliability of the Taemas bridge has facilitated the agricultural activities and economies of the surrounding areas.<ref name="NSWSHR"/>
'''The place is important in demonstrating aesthetic characteristics and/or a high degree of creative or technical achievement in New South Wales.'''
The Taemas Bridge represents a significant technical achievement. The design of this robust metal bridge and its positioning, with the site of the former crossing downstream and documentary sources, demonstrate the intelligence, effort and investment required to construct a lasting and reliable crossing of this major and dynamic waterway. The bridge is of aesthetic significance, being an impressive structure of considerable length crossing a major waterway and having landmark qualities on the Yass-Tumut road. The monumental style of the abutments reflects the importance ascribed to the crossing by the Public Works Department and the community.<ref name="NSWSHR"/>
'''The place has a strong or special association with a particular community or cultural group in New South Wales for social, cultural or spiritual reasons.'''
The bridge has local social significance. The loss of the previous bridge in record flood was a major blow to the local community using this important transport and communication route. The community was involved in the debate surrounding the siting of the existing bridge, and continued to express dismay at the lengthy delay in its construction. The monumental style of the abutments would seem to reflect the importance ascribed to the crossing by the Public Works Department and the community. The bridge is a landmark to which local travellers are likely to attach a sense of place and self.<ref name="NSWSHR"/>
'''The place possesses uncommon, rare or endangered aspects of the cultural or natural history of New South Wales.'''
The bridge is a good, intact example of large scale truss design in the heyday of the rivet.<ref name="NSWSHR"/>
== See also == {{stack|{{Portal|New South Wales|Transport|Engineering|Australian roads}}}} * [[Goodradigbee River Bridge]] * [[List of bridges in Australia]]
==References== {{Reflist}}
=== Bibliography === *{{cite book |author=Randell, Freeman |title=Phase 1 South West Region Study |year=2003}} *{{cite journal |title=Taemas Bridge |journal=[[Main Roads (periodical)|Main Roads]] |volume=I |number=5 |date=February 1930 |pages=117–118 |url=https://www.opengov.nsw.gov.au/publications/15836}} *{{cite journal |title=Murrumbidgee River Bridge, Taemas |journal=[[Main Roads (periodical)|Main Roads]] |volume=III |number=6 |date=February 1932 |page=85 |url=https://www.opengov.nsw.gov.au/publications/15912}} *{{Citation | author1=Bayley, William A. (William Alan) | author2=Yass (N.S.W. : Municipality). Council | title=Yass municipal centenary history | year=1973 | publication-date=1973 | publisher=Yass Municipal Council | isbn=978-0-909597-11-5 |url=https://trove.nla.gov.au/version/25911761 |pages=93–4, 100}} *{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article249788776 |title=A Great Calamity. |newspaper=[[The Yass Courier]] |location=New South Wales, Australia |date=28 May 1925 |page=5}} *{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article249788779 |title=Disastrous Floods |newspaper=[[The Yass Courier]] |location=New South Wales, Australia |date=28 May 1925 |page=5}} *{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article249796597 |title=Taemas Bridge. |newspaper=[[The Yass Courier]] |location=New South Wales, Australia |date=24 December 1925 |page=5}} *{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article247972606 |title=Taemas Bridge |newspaper=[[Yass Tribune-courier]] |location=New South Wales, Australia |date=24 April 1950 |page=1}} *{{cite book |title=Correspondence |work=Shire Clerk to the Public Works Department |date=11 August 1926}} *{{cite book |title=Correspondence |work=Shire Clerk to J. M. Tully M.L.A. |date=3 December 1928 }} *{{cite book |title=RTA File 515.142 |page=1 |date=n.d.}}
=== Attribution === {{NSW-SHR-CC|name=Taemas Bridge over Murrumbidgee River|dno-|id=s.170|year=2005|accessdate=7 April 2020}}
==External links== {{commons category}} * {{cite AV media |url=http://acms.sl.nsw.gov.au/item/itemDetailPaged.aspx?itemID=205147# |title=Taemas Bridge, Burrinjuck Dam |publisher=[[State Library of New South Wales]] |format=negative }} * [https://web.archive.org/web/20160304113903/http://acms.sl.nsw.gov.au/item/itemLarge.aspx?itemID=205147]
{{Road infrastructure in regional New South Wales|state=collapsed}}
[[Category:Road bridges in New South Wales]] [[Category:Bridges completed in 1931]] [[Category:Crossings of the Murrumbidgee River]] [[Category:1931 establishments in Australia]] [[Category:Steel bridges in Australia]] [[Category:Truss bridges in Australia]] [[Category:Bridges in the Riverina]] [[Category:New South Wales State Heritage Register]] [[Category:Pratt truss bridges]]