Tasmanian bridge

The Tasman Bridge is not just a beautiful majestic structure. This is an object without which it is impossible to imagine a full life of Hobart - the bridge united the two banks of the Derwent River into a single urban space.

The bridge in this place existed before, but it was the so-called floating bridge, a kind of pontoon. With the growth of the population and the increase in traffic, the issue of building a new bridge arose. Construction began in May 1960, and traffic on the bridge opened on March 8, 1965. Its total length was 1395 meters. The bridge was distinguished by the original design - the canvas rested on numerous powerful pylons, and the central ones were much higher than the lateral ones. The result was an elegant arch, under the high central part of which ships could freely pass.

However, on January 5, 1975, a real tragedy occurred: the captain of the bulker carrying ore collided with the support of the bridge. As a result, 127 meters of roadway collapsed, killing 5 motorists and 7 crew members of the vessel. For a long time the city lost the most important transport artery. On October 8, 1977, the bridge was restored.

Now, instead of four lanes, there are five, and the fifth is used as multidirectional depending on the intensity of traffic. And the ship that caused the disaster still rests under the bridge at a depth of 35 meters.