Tasman Bridge
- 42.864764147.345372Koordinaten: 42 ° 51 ' 53.2 "S, 147 ° 20' 43.3 " E
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Derwent River
The Tasman Bridge is a bridge in Hobart, Tasmania, Australia. It spans the Derwent River and connects the center of Hobart with the eastern suburbs and the airport of the capital. The Tasman Bridge is traveled daily by about 67,000 vehicles and is part of the Tasman Highway.
The Tasman Bridge is a prestressed concrete bridge with a total length of 1395 meters and a width of 17.5 meters, on the five lanes for motor vehicles and both sides will find walking and biking paths space. At its highest point the Tasman Bridge has a height of 60.5 meters and a vertical clearance of 46 meters.
History
Initial plans for a bridge to cross the River Derwent date back to the year 1832. However, it was not until 1943, when opened with the Hobart Bridge, the first bridge. Up to that time ferries were the only means of crossing the river.
The Hobart Bridge was a two-lane pontoon bridge that crossed the Derwent River. The arc- shaped, floating bridge at the western end had a section that could be raised to allow the passage of ships. This often led to longer waiting times for vehicles on the bridge, which became more and more with increasing traffic problem.
In the early 1950s, therefore, the construction of another major bridge over the Derwent River was planned. Construction of the new Tasman Bridge was in May 1960. The first two lanes were released in August 1964 for the traffic and a few days later the old Hobart Bridge was closed and started the disassembly. The completion of the Tasman Bridge with four lanes at that time was in December 1964. The official opening took place on 18 March 1965.
Misfortune
On the evening of January 5 1975, so far the only major accident occurred on the Tasman Bridge. Against 21:27 clock rammed loaded with 10,000 tons of iron ore freighter Lake Illawarra the bridge. It was up, two pillars and three bridge elements with a total length of 127 meters. Parts of the bridge elements rushed to the ship, which sank in the sequence. Seven crew members of the ship and five people whose vehicles plunged from the bridge, came during this tragedy killed. The wreck of the Lake Illawarra is still under the bridge and can be visited with the permission of the port authorities.
As a result of this accident, which destroyed the main route between Hobart and the eastern suburbs, a ferry crossing with several partly very old ships was built, which had lengthened considerably suddenly the commute of many city dwellers.
Reconstruction and modernization
The reconstruction of the Tasman Bridge began in October 1975 and lasted for two years. Here also a new control system for ships at the bridge was installed, which signals through different colored lights, whether the ships in the main shipping channel are or how the course must be corrected in order to avoid possible collisions.
In the course of the reconstruction of the bridge this was also modernized and extended with a fifth lane and a traffic control system. This fifth lane is now enabled depending on rush hour with an alternating direction of travel for traffic. Generally it is released in the morning for vehicles toward the center of Hobart and in the afternoon towards the eastern parts of the city.
Reconstruction and modernization was completed in September 1977. The bridge was officially reopened to traffic on October 8, 1977.
Gallery
Tasman Bridge seen from the Derwent River from
Tasman Bridge at dusk
Access to the Tasman Bridge