BOLTE BRIDGE

The Bolte Bridge is a large twin cantilever bridge in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It spans the Yarra River and Victoria Harbour in the Docklands precinct to the west of the Melbourne CBD. It forms part of the CityLink system of toll roads that connects the Tullamarine Freeway from the northern suburbs with the West Gate Freeway and the Domain and Burnley tunnels to the Monash Freeway and the south eastern suburbs.

The bridge was designed by architects Denton Corker Marshall and was built for head contractor Transurban by Baulderstone Hornibrook, construction taking three years from 1996 to 1999 and costing $75 million. It was named by Jeff Kennett, for former Premier of Victoria, Sir Henry Bolte because of its linking the West Gate, Monash and Tullamarine Freeways - projects commissioned or completed by the Bolte Government.

The Southern Star is a currently nonoperational Ferris wheel in the Waterfront City precinct at Melbourne Docklands. It is 120 m, the equivalent of a forty storey building. It opened two years behind schedule in December 2008, but then closed 40 days later due to structural defects, and was subsequently dismantled for major repairs. Reconstruction began in January 2011.

Passing the bridge and the Ferris wheel, one comes to a tube-like sound barrier in Flemington where the road passes close to a number of community housing towers. A short distance to the north of the sound tube, a massive sculptural work was placed, called the Melbourne International Gateway, consisting of a giant yellow beam hanging diagonally across the road (nicknamed the "Cheesestick") and a row of smaller red beams alongside the road (the "Zipper", or "rack of lamb")...

By the way I was the passenger, not the driver in the car, while I was taking these photos!

This post is part of the Sunday Bridges meme,
and also part of the Scenic Sunday meme.