One of the most iconic structures in the Manning on the NSW Mid North Coast is the Martin Bridge.
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The RMS and MidCoast Council promise us a repaint next year to restore this 78 year old lady to her pristine best.
Let's hear the Martin Bridge story:
This is a road bridge over the Manning River in Taree.
It is a steel truss bridge of 11 spans each 37.1 m long, on concrete supports, with three steel girder approach spans each 12.2 m long.
The total bridge length is 463m.
Originally it had a lifting span with two concrete counterbalances.
The bridge was opened on May 18, 1940 by the premier of NSW, Alexander Mair, and replaced a ferry service at the end of Pulteney St.
The construction cost was £97,000.
The bridge was named after L.O Martin, minister for works and local government at the time of construction, and was the major piece of engineering on a deviation of the Pacific Highway from the previous crossing of the Manning River upstream at Tinonee.
The location of the crossing of the Manning River by the Pacific Highway was changed yet again in December 1997 when the Taree bypass opened.
As a result, most of the traffic now carried by the Martin Bridge is local traffic.
The bridge is only single lane in each direction but still carries vehicles as large as B doubles.
This beautiful old bridge gives panoramic views of the Manning River particularly at daybreak or sunset.
Some new clothes and she'll be ready to serve for many years to come.
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