Charles Grimes Bridge

The Charles Grimes Bridge is a twin road bridge that carries the Docklands Highway over the Yarra River in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It was named after New South Wales surveyor general Charles Grimes, who was the first European to see the Yarra River.

Charles Grimes Bridge
Coordinates
CarriesRoad
CrossesYarra River
LocaleMelbourne, Australia
History
Opened1975

As originally constructed in the 1975 it ran north–south over the river, connecting Footscray Road to the West Gate Freeway and Montague Street. The low height of the bridge above the water resulted in the closure of a number of the river wharves on the upstream side.[1] However, with the Melbourne Docklands redevelopment of the 1990s, Footscray Road was closed as a through route and rebuilt as Harbour Esplanade. To replace the through route, Wurundjeri Way was constructed to the east. To connect to this new road Flinders Street was upgraded, and the north end of the Charles Grimes Bridge was rebuilt on a curve to connect to it. Reconstruction started in June 1999,[2] and was completed by 2001.

The bridge superstructure consists of five 33.5m long main spans the river, with five smaller spans between 12m and 24m in length over the existing wharf and riverbank. Each of the bridges carries four traffic lanes in one direction, and a footpath.[3] Computer analysis was required during design due to the complex geometry of the spans.[4]

The Jim Stynes Bridge was opened in 2014 to carry pedestrian and cyclist traffic underneath the Charles Grimes Bridge, to connect the Docklands precinct to the Northbank area.[5]

References
  1. "History of the port". www.portofmelbourne.com. Archived from the original on 7 September 2012. Retrieved 21 July 2008.
  2. "Traffic chaos predicted on Charles Grimes Bridge". Australasian Transport News. www.fullyloaded.com.au. 17 June 1999. Archived from the original on 27 July 2008. Retrieved 8 July 2008.
  3. "Charles Grimes Bridge, Melbourne". Arup. Archived from the original on 5 May 2004. Retrieved 8 July 2008.
  4. "SAM Case Study: Charles Grimes Bridge". www.lrfdsoftware.com. Archived from the original on 5 July 2008. Retrieved 8 July 2008.
  5. Masanauskas, John; Toy, Mitchell (20 December 2012). "Works begin on city bridge to honour Jim Stynes in Northbank precinct". Herald Sun.
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