City Bridge Adelaide, Adelaide

The City Bridge in Adelaide, also known as the Adelaide Bridge, is a vital infrastructure connecting the city with North Adelaide across the Torrens River. This river, notorious for its history of destroying bridges, has seen several attempts at bridging, with the first recorded effort in 1837. The present City Bridge, located on King William Road, was initially constructed to extend this major thoroughfare directly to North Adelaide, bypassing the old Ford that was previously in use.

The journey to the current structure began in 1855 when a more permanent bridge was authorized, leading to the construction of the first substantial city bridge by February 1856. This iron bridge, brought from England, was the first of its kind on this site and was operational for 20 years. However, as traffic increased, especially with the advent of trams, the need for a more robust structure became evident.

On April 25, 1877, a new bridge was officially opened, replacing the previous iron structure. This bridge considered a magnificent piece of engineering at the time, was 110 feet long and 40 feet wide, with two seven-foot-wide footpaths. It served the city for several decades but eventually became a bottleneck due to the increasing volume of traffic.

To address this issue, the City Council decided to construct a new bridge in 1929. Designed by the city engineer, the new bridge featured a three-hinge reinforced concrete arch spanning 120 feet over the river, accompanied by two bow-string arches of 38 feet span over sub-portal footways. Construction was completed by the end of 1930, and the bridge was officially opened on March 5, 1931. This third bridge on the site, and the fifth to cross the Torrens Valley, matched the width of King William Street, thereby eliminating the previous traffic congestion.

Today, the Adelaide Bridge remains a crucial element of the city’s infrastructure, seamlessly integrating into the north-south vista along King William Road and playing a significant role in the landscapes of the Torrens Valley and Elder Park.