Dickabram Bridge

Dickabram Bridge
250px Dickabram Bridge over the Mary River
Coordinates
Carries	Motor vehicles, Railway
Crosses	Mary River
Locale	Miva, Queensland
Heritage status	Registered (ID 15956)
Characteristics
Design	Truss bridge
Material	Timber, Steel
Total length	191 metres (627 ft)
Longest span	36.6 metres (120 ft)
Number of spans	14 (6.1m, 7.9m, three at 11m, 11.6m, 24.1m, 36.6m, 24.1m, 11.6m, two at 11m, 7.9m and 6.1m)
Clearance above	4.3 metres (14 ft)
Clearance below	23 metres (75 ft)
History
Designer	Henry Charles Stanley
Constructed by	McDermott Owen & Co.
Construction begin	1885
Construction end	6 December 1886

The Dickabram Bridge is a heritage-listed road-and-rail bridge over the Mary River near Miva, north-west of Gympie in Queensland, Australia. It was the major bridge on the Kingaroy line.

The bridge is one of only two remaining road-and-rail bridges in Australia and the only one in Queensland. It is the oldest remaining large steel truss bridge constructed in Queensland.

File:Dickabram Bridge 62.JPG

Dickabram Bridge timber road deck

The steel and timber truss bridge, built by McDermott Owen & Co., was completed in November 1886 and the line opened for traffic between Dickabram and Kilkivan on 6 December 1886. It is 191m long and stands 23m above the Mary River. All spans are metal trusses except for the 11m approach spans which are tied timber girders. The two river piers are cast iron cylinders; the remaining piers and road deck are timber.

The name of the bridge comes from a local Aboriginal word Dickabram meaning Sweet potato that grew along the river flats there. The bridge decking was submerged under water only once during the 1893 floods.

The extensive restoration of the bridge, involving replacement of hardwood timber beams and decking, was completed in April 2009.

Heritage listing

The bridge was registered on the former Register of the National Estate in 1988. It was listed on the Queensland Heritage Register in 1992.