Spencer Street Bridge

Spencer Street Bridge
Coordinates	37°49′23″S 144°57′21″E / 37.822942°S 144.955893°E / -37.822942; 144.955893
Carries	Road, trams, pedestrians
Crosses	Yarra River
Locale	Melbourne, Australia
Characteristics
Material	All steel superstructure[1]
Total length	405 ft (123 m)[2]
Width	80.6 ft (24.6 m) Roadway 12 ft (3.7 m) footways[2]
Height	28.5 ft (8.7 m)[3]
Longest span	130 ft (40 m)[4][5]
No. of spans	3[2]
Piers in water	Concrete on cylindrical caissons faced with bluestone down to rock[2]
History
Architect	Royal Victorian Institute of Architects Mr Oakley Mr Kermode Mr Perrin[6]
Engineering design by	Mr W. D. Chapman[7]
Constructed by	Railways Construction Branch
Construction start	28 October 1927[8]
Construction end	1930
Construction cost	£168,700[7][9]
Location

The Spencer Street Bridge is a road and tram bridge over the Yarra River in Melbourne, Australia. It connects Spencer Street on the north bank with Clarendon Street on the south. The idea of a bridge at that point was first proposed in the mid-19th century.^[10]

The design of the bridge was the result of a public competition, announced in November 1925.^[11] It was won by Messrs. Edward Saunders and Alan Wilson, engineers, in conjunction with Messrs. Alfred R. La Gerche and W. E. Gower, architects.^[12] The first pile was driven in October 1927.^[10]

During construction engineers knew deep foundations would be required to find bedrock but, at 20 metres below sea level, they struck a red gum stump that took three weeks work to remove. It was dated at about 8,000 years old and appeared to have lived for well over 400 years.^[13] The cantilever girder type, with steel girder suspended span bridge was completed in 1930,^[2][14] with an adjacent glass and steel covered footbridge built alongside in 1998, as part of the Melbourne Convention & Exhibition Centre.^{[15][16][17][18][19]}