In this article, we will explore Bolte Bridge, one of the most beautiful and famous bridges in Australia. Why is this bridge famous? How long is it? Let’s start.
Bolte Bridge, Australia
Bolte Bridge is one of the most famous bridges in Australia. It is located in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The bridge is a twin cantilever bridge for the roadways and it is a part of an elevated roadway. It spans over the Yarra River and its official length is 490 meters, however, as it is part of the elevated roadway, altogether its length is much longer. This elevated roadway is situated between the West Gate Freeway and Flemington Road. The total length of the Bolte Bridge with the elevated roadway is 5 km.
The bridge was named for Victoria’s longest-serving Premier “Sir Henry Bolte” and it was named by Jeff Kenneth. The whole elevated roadway is a tolled road and is part of the City Link system. This iconic architectural marvel is made up of two independent bridges with variable depths and there is a 1.15-meter gap between these two structures.
In the midway of the bridges, there are two towers both 140 meters in height which are known as Gateway Towers. These two towers are in the middle of the river and that is the reason why the Bolte Bridge looks just phenomenal.
Moreover, these two towers of the Bolte Bridge are hollow from the inside and have ladders to a small rooftop. The towers were of great importance to urban explorers in the past however currently they are locked. The longest span length of the bridge is 173 meters. While approaching the bridge from the south, there is a 430 meters viaduct(elevated roadway) meanwhile the viaduct of the north is 4080 meters long.
On each bridge, there are four lanes for the flow of traffic. However, one thing that is to be kept in mind is that this elevated roadway and bridge is not for pedestrians and cyclists.
The construction work of the Bolte Bridge began in 1996 and was completed in 3 years in 1999. The bridge was designed by architect Denton Corker Marshall and the construction was headed by Transurban by Baulderstone Hornibrook. The construction cost of the bridge back in 1999 was about 75 million US dollars.
The Bolte Bridge is owned by Citylink and it is maintained by Transurban. The bridge is a very busy one as every single day, about 50,000 vehicles move through this bridge. The one-way toll cost through the bridge is around 3.42 Australian dollars.
In Australia, there are so many beautiful bridges throughout the country, you can also check out Sydney Harbour Bridge – The Famous Bridge in Australia.
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