Three Adelaide CBD bridges closed to heavy vehicles
An iconic city bridge will probably only last another 10 years, so the council will close it, and two other bridges, to large vehicles.
Adelaide Bridge will only last another 10 years, prompting Adelaide City Council to close it, and another two nearby bridges, to large vehicles.
Vehicles that weigh more than 26 tonnes will be banned from Adelaide Bridge (King William Rd), Victoria Bridge (Morphett St) and Albert Bridge (Frome Rd) to “maximise their lifespan”.
Adelaide Bridge, which connects Adelaide to North Adelaide, is only expected to last another 11 years so the restriction will reduce risk of failure because its condition is deteriorating.
The bridge was built around 1930 and has a life span of about 100 years.
“Each of these three bridges currently permit modern vehicles, but they weigh more than they are designed to take (because they were built long ago),” a council spokesman told a committee last night.
“If we take Adelaide Bridge that was built in 1930, the vehicles that use that bridge now didn’t exist then so modern standards have changed.”
The ban would not include garbage trucks, emergency trucks and buses.
Cr Anne Moran said she was happy the trucks would be avoiding some North Adelaide streets including O’Connell St.
Cr Phil Martin hoped “kids in the city would not have to sing Adelaide Bridge is falling down” in the future.
“What this measure is intended to do is take an unlikely scenario (Adelaide Bridge would collapse) down to a very unlikely scenario,” the spokesman said in response to Cr Martin.
Adelaide City Council place director Klinton Devenish said after the meeting the move would shorten travel times for all other vehicles travelling on King William Rd.
“From a traffic movement and safety perspective, it is preferred that heavy vehicles no longer use King William St and O’Connell St as a through route when the bypass route is available,” Mr Devenish said.
MORE NEWS
Property heavyweights savage Liberals over land tax
Listeria pastrami sparks recall
“The city ring route provides the best overall balance in maximising the design life of the bridges, improving road safety and minimising the impact of very heavy vehicles on transport infrastructure.”
Adelaide and Albert Bridge are both state heritage-listed.
Restrictions should be in place by September 27.