TWO YARRA BRIDGES

Melbourne has many bridges crossing the Yarra River from the impressive West Gate Bridge at the mouth of the river, and many smaller ones out into the suburbs. Here are two of these suburban bridges, one old and one a lot a newer.

Morell Bridge, also known as the Anderson St bridge, near the starting point of The Tan running track. Completed in 1899 by John Monash and J. T. N. Anderson, it is notable for being the first bridge in Victoria to be built using reinforced concrete. It features decorations on the three arch spans, including large dragon motifs and ornamental Victorian lights. The gutters on the bridge are cobbled bluestone, with a single lane bitumen strip running down the middle.

The Bridge is listed on the Victorian Heritage Register. Originally known as the Anderson Street bridge, it was named the Morell Bridge in 1936 after Sir Stephen Morell who was a prominent Victorian businessman and Lord Mayor of Melbourne between 1926 and 1928. On June 7, 1998 the bridge was closed to motor vehicles as part of the CityLink project. It is currently used by cyclist and pedestrian traffic, connecting the Royal Botanic Gardens to the Olympic Park precinct.

The Swan Street Bridge links Swan St, Richmond on the north side to Alexandra Parade on the south side. It was built in 1952 and is a primary arterial thoroughfare, with much traffic 24 hours around the clock. Although quite a utilitarian structure, looking towards the City it is quite picturesque.

This post is part of the Scenic Weekends meme,

and also part of the Sunday Bridges meme.