Thousands of Tasmanians will cross the old Bridgewater Bridge for the final time today, ending nearly eight decades of daily journeys over one of the state’s most recognisable landmarks.
The 78-year-old steel lift bridge, which has connected Hobart’s eastern and western shores since 1946, will permanently close to traffic after today’s final crossings.
From Monday, all vehicles will use the new $786 million four-lane replacement, marking the end of an era for generations of Tasmanians who have relied on the historic span.
Some drivers will make the crossing without realising they’re witnessing history. Others will take one last look at the bridge that has been both a constant companion throughout their lives.
The old bridge’s retirement completes a transport story that began with 200 convicts nearly two centuries ago, who built the causeway foundation that still supports traffic today.
For many Tasmanians, the Bridgewater Bridge has provided the backdrop to countless life moments. Parents have driven their children across it thousands of times for school, work and family outings. Those children grew up to repeat the ritual with their own families.
But the bridge’s legacy is complicated by years of mechanical failures that turned routine trips into hours-long ordeals.
The lifting mechanism broke down spectacularly in 2006 and barely functioned after a $14 million repair attempt, managing successful openings only a handful of times.
These failures exposed how the bridge had outlived its purpose, struggling to handle 22,000 daily users and modern traffic demands. At seven decades old, officials deemed it “unsafe, unreliable and expensive to maintain”.
The replacement bridge represents more than 20 years of planning and political commitment. Early discussions began over two decades ago, with the breakthrough coming in 2018 when federal and state governments committed to the current project.
In the end, the federal government poured in $628.8 million and the state government the remaining $157.2 million to create the state’s largest-ever transport infrastructure project.
Construction began in late 2022, taking 900 days to complete and generating more than 1,000 direct and indirect jobs.
Built downstream from the old span, the new bridge stretches nearly one kilometre and rises more than 16 metres above the water. Crucially, it contains no moving parts to fail.
Traffic will flow at 80km/h from day one, replacing the stop-start chaos that has plagued the area in recent years.
Enhanced interchanges at Granton and Bridgewater, plus a dedicated shared pathway for cyclists and pedestrians, complete the transformation. Those who built the original would be amazed by what sits above it today.
Two hundred convicts, working through secondary punishment, spent nearly two decades moving two million tonnes of earth by hand to create a causeway that has now supported nearly 80 years of daily commutes.
Lieutenant-Governor George Arthur ordered the causeway built in 1829 to create Tasmania’s first permanent road link between Hobart and Launceston.
The first bridge opened in 1848. The current span, built during World War II, became the fourth structure to use the convict foundation.
Construction of today’s closing bridge began in 1939 but was interrupted by World War II. It opened to road traffic in March 1942.
The complex lifting mechanism that made the bridge distinctive wasn’t completed until 1946. It remains one of only a few vertical lift bridges in the Southern Hemisphere and Australia’s largest.
Parts of the old bridge will remain as an extension of the historic causeway, with interpretive signs planned to tell the story of the convicts who built the enduring foundation beneath.
When the deteriorated lifting sections are removed, vessels will be able to travel upstream to New Norfolk uninterrupted for the first time since the 1800s.
