Nepean Bridge

I was on Beckett's patch down at Penrith/Emu Plains today. I have shot pictures of this bridge before but not quite at such an angle as I recall. The light was a bit on the "ordinary" side but I thought I'd shoot anyway.

Prior to the construction of the Victoria Bridge (left), a punt service was located at this site but following the discovery of gold to the west of the Great Dividing Range, demand for a permanent river crossing increased. A timber bridge opened in January 1856, was destroyed by floods in 1857, rebuilt and again destroyed in 1860. The existing stone and steel structure was begun in 1864 and completed in 1867. Originally it took one railway line and a road across the river, however in 1907 another bridge (right) was constructed a few metres to the north, which carried two railway lines across the river, allowing the original bridge to revert to road and pedestrian use only.

A kilometre or so up river, a six lane motorway (the M4) now takes the bulk of traffic west to the interior and so these interesting old structures are perhaps less important than they once were.