Batemans Bay Bridge: Is the new bridge open? And what happened to the old bridge?
The new Batemans Bay Bridge opened in 2021, and the old bridge has been turned into a sculpture for the Clyde River foreshore.
For 65 years, the Batemans Bay Bridge over the Clyde River on the New South Wales South Coast was both a local icon and hopelessly inadequate.
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The original vertical lift truss bridge opened in 1956, replacing a motorised punt. However, it had to open to let boats through, leading to traffic tailbacks on the only coastal route across the Clyde River.
This got worse when mechanical problems delayed the opening and closing of the bridge. Both motorists and boaters got seriously frustrated.
New Batemans Bay Bridge opening
In 2019, therefore, work started on a new Batemans Bay Bridge across the Clyde River. Two lanes of the new bridge opened to traffic in March 2021, although the project will continue until 2023. As of September 2021, all fours lanes of the new Batemans Bay Bridge were open. This gives better access to Batemans Bay for emergency vehicles and freight. There is also a shared route for pedestrians and cyclists across the new bridge.
The new Batemans Bay Bridge has a deliberate curving shape, and a height of 12 metres. This is high enough for virtually all boats, including all the commercial boats in the region, to pass under.
All in all, the project to replace the old Batemans Bay Bridge and improve the Clyde River Foreshore is due to cost $274 million.
But what will happen to the old bridge? Well, artist Joel Adler has been commissioned to turn it into a sculpture.
Batemans Bay Bridge sculpture
The sculpture, 5.8 metres tall and with a 3.5 metre base, will be installed on the foreshore. It’s intended as a tribute to the first Batemans Bay Bridge, made entirely of the metal from the old bridge.
Other highlights around Batemans Bay, New South Wales, include surfing at Broulee and Bawley Point, kayaking on the Tomaga River between Mossy Point and Tomakin, and camping at Pebbly Beach with a mob of kangaroos.
Batemans Bay accommodation options include the Corrigans Cove apartments, the Batemans Bay Marina Resort and the fancy Lincoln Downs Resort.
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