On Tuesday 22 September 2015, Alexandrina Mayor Keith Parkes cut a ribbon to reopen the Childrens Bridge across the Angas river in the heart of Strathalbyn.
The bridge had been showing signs of concrete cancer and had been closed for restoration work. This is the second time the bridge has been repaired. Extensive rebuilding work was carried out in 1977 and the bridge was reopened on 7 May 1978.
The recent restoration was undertaken by Synergy Remedial, the specialist contractors who had worked on the repair and reconstruction of the award-winning Sir William Goodman Bridge in Hindmarsh. It involved repairing affected sections and applying innovative coatings, developed by Australian manufacturers, to prevent carbonation which could lead to further damage.
Synergy has also developed techniques to produce a finished surface which closely resembles the original cement render and complies with heritage requirements. A waterproof liquid coating has been applied to the surface of the walkway to ensure the structure remains dry – a vital step to forestall further deterioration.
The bridge is expected to give another 20 to 30 years service before recoating is required.
The balustrade sections between the concrete posts are original but new galavanised chain mesh has been fitted. Interestingly, the material available to day is still the same width as that originally installed which meant that the new sections fitted perfectly.
The handsome bridge with its three elegant arches and slender open spandrels was opened on 6 December 1919. The town council had been able to secure the services of D V (Daniel) Fleming who had just been appointed Engineer for Roads and Bridges the previous year.
Fleming, who later became SA’s first Commissioner for Highways, had been designing all the Department’s bridges including a number of interesting structures along the new Torrens Gorge Road (see “The Bridges of the Torrens Valley”, Transactions of the Fourth South Australian Engineering Heritage Conference”).
Not only did Fleming design the sophisticated reinforced concrete structure but it was constructed by the Main Roads Department. The cost of the bridge was met by a generous donation from Strathalbyn resident William Richardson in memory of his late wife Margaret.
In the original opening ceremony, Strathalbyn’s oldest and youngest residents crossed the bridge. The youngest was a baby born only a few hours before and, at Richardson’s request, the parents agreed to name her Margaret. At the ceremony on 22 September, among those to first cross the bridge this time was Margaret’s son Trevor Pallant.
For more news and information about engineering heritage (history), heritage engineering (practice), and the next South Australian Engineering Heritage Conference in May 2016, please visit the Engineering Heritage SA page.