Bribie Island Bridge 50th Anniversary 2013

Bribie Island Bridge 50th Anniversary - Memorial Plaques

The following information and photos are sourced from Monument Australia
http://monumentaustralia.org.au/australian_monument/display/100534

Bribie Island Bridge 50th Anniversary

Saturday 19 October 2013

Description:
Two plaques commemorating the 50th Anniversary of the opening of the Bribie Island Bridge on Saturday 19 October 1963.

The bridge, which took two years to build, was the longest, pre-stressed, pre-cast concrete bridge in Australia at the time of its construction. Spanning 2736 feet (831.4 metres), the bridge cost $716,321 and had a 10 shilling toll to cross it.  The bridge was officially opened on Saturday 19 October 1963 by the then Premier of Queensland, Frank Nicklin.

Plaque One Inscription:
1963 - 2013

50 year anniverary of the Bribie Island Bridge

This plaque commemorates the opening of the Bribie Island Bridge on 19th October 1963, a significant event in the development of the island.  From 1912 when the Bongaree Jetty was built, visitors came on steamship "excursions" before roads & motor cars became popular in the 1940s.

A car ferry was then the required transport from the mainland opposite.

As vehicles and population numbers increased throughout the 1950s, Government consider the possible construction and funding of a bridge.  Various alternatives were considered before construction of this longest pre-stressed concrete bridge in Australia at the time.

A significant toll (10 shillings) was imposed to cross the bridge, which enabled the bridge to be paid for in 12 years, and the toll ended in 1975.

Commemorating 50 years of the Bridge`s service to the community

Bribie Island Historical Society

19th October 2013


Plaque Two Inscription:
1963 - 2013

Bribie Island Bridge - Built 1963

This concrete block was an anchor for a pile driving barge used to construct this longest pre-stressed bridge in Australia at the time.  A total of 206 piles, up to 26m long and 12 tons each, were driven up to 10 metres into the sea bed.  Calculations for this complex task were checked with a "new" electronic computer at the University of Queensland.

For over 30 years a bridge had been discussed but the resident population in 1963 was only 700.  The population grew by just a few hundred before the toll was lifted in 1975.  Today it has increased twenty-fold

Acknowledgements:
The above photographs by John Huth dated 13 Sep 2014 were supplied to Monument Australia.
http://monumentaustralia.org.au/australian_monument/display/100534