Breakaway Bridge
Breakaway Road,, ACHERON VIC 3714 - Property No B2253
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Statement of Significance
Draft statement of significance:
WHAT IS SIGNIFICANT? The Breakaway Bridge crosses the Goulburn River where Hobans Road and Breakaway Road meet at the boundary between the localities of Acheron and Alexandra. The Melbourne Road passing through Acheron and Taggerty dates from around 1870 when the area was surveyed. The first bridge was built c1877, but was swept away in a flood around 1918. The present single-lane bridge was built c.1920 by the Country Roads Board. Around 1932 five spans added on the south side when the river shifted course approximately 150 feet (an event known as 'The Breakaway').
It is a single-lane bridge with universal beam/RSJ steel girders & a longitudinal plank timber deck on crossbeams, timber kerbs and two strips of running boards. Running boards were phased out in 1930 by the Country Roads Board. The deck length is 67.5 metres.The piles and stringers are rounded logs, while the corbels beneath the stringers are squared timbers. Roman numerals are incised on the piles. The piers appear to have five original piers (plus some later reinforcements), and two pairs of criss-cross braces each. This is in contrast to the standard CRB single-lane bridge which has only three-pile piers. The extra piers may have been intended to combat the flooding this area was prone to.
HOW IS IT SIGNIFICANT? The Breakaway Bridge is of historic significance at the Regional Level.
WHY IS IT SIGNIFICANT? The Breakaway Bridge is significant historically, as a tangible reminder of the frequent flooding of the Goulburn River in the early 20th century, and particularly of the time the river 'broke away' and formed a new course in 1932. It is significant also as a relatively intact Country Roads Board bridge of the type built in the 1920s, with extra reinforcing for this flood-prone location. The running boards are a rare survivor.
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Breakaway BridgeNational Trust
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