Margaret McMaster and Barbara Jones have witnessed the opening of two different Bridgewater bridges in their lifetimes.
The pair, both in their nineties, were given the honour of being the first to cross Tasmania’s new 1.2km Bridgewater Bridge this morning, riding in a vintage 1910 Roadster after unveiling a commemorative plaque.
They also attended the opening of the previous bridge back in 1946.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Premier Jeremy Rockliff braved the bitter cold for an official opening ceremony at the Granton end of the long-awaited replacement bridge, which opens to all traffic tomorrow morning.
“I am a declared infrastructure nerd. I love infrastructure,” Albanese told the crowd. “You can touch it, you can feel it. You know that you are making a difference for the long term.”
The new bridge represents the completion of a project years in the making, constructed with 59,000 cubic metres of concrete and 760 tonnes of high-tensile steel. It is expected to carry around 22,000 vehicles daily.
Premier Rockliff described the finished bridge as “a testament to what we can achieve when all levels of government work together”.
“Yes there are four lanes behind us and many tonnes of concrete … but it’s more than that,” he said.
“It’s delivered jobs, it’s delivered skills and it’s delivered something that everyone who’s been involved in can be enormously proud of.”
More than 7,000 people registered for the rare opportunity to walk across the bridge today, a moment Federal Infrastructure Minister Catherine King compared to her own childhood experience of walking Melbourne’s West Gate Bridge in 1979.
“I still remember it today. I hope every single one of the people who walks across it today enjoys it but also remembers it because you only get to do that once or twice in your lifetime,” she said.
Mario Russo, Managing Director of McConnell Dowell, the company behind the construction, praised the local workforce that brought the project to fruition.
“Everyone who’s come to this project has fallen in love with this area but it’s been the capability and the commitment and pride of the Tasmanian people that have delivered this project,” he said.
“We haven’t just connected two sides of a river. We’ve connected communities, ideas and opportunities.”
“And speaking of opportunities, I hear you might need a new stadium, Premier. We can talk about that.”
More on this story: End of an era as 78-year-old Bridgewater Bridge closes to traffic for good
