The Ryde Bridge, which is in fact two bridges, is located in Sydney

Sydney

Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...

, Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

 that crosses the Parramatta River

Parramatta River

The Parramatta River is a waterway in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The Parramatta River is the main tributary of Sydney Harbour, a branch of Port Jackson, along with the smaller Lane Cove and Duck Rivers....

, linking the suburb of Ryde

Ryde, New South Wales

Ryde is a suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Ryde is located 13 km north-west of the Sydney central business district and 8 km east of Parramatta. Ryde is the administrative centre of the local government area of the City of Ryde and part of the Northern Suburbs area...

 in Sydney's Northern Suburbs

Northern Suburbs (Sydney)

The Northern Suburbs is a general term used to describe the metropolitan area on the northern bank of the Parramatta River in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia east of West Pennant Hills and west of the Lane Cove National Park, south of Hornsby...

 to the suburb of Rhodes

Rhodes, New South Wales

Rhodes is a suburb in the inner-west of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Rhodes is located 16 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the City of Canada Bay...

 in Sydney's Inner West. These bridges carry 6 lanes of Metroad 3

Metroad 3

Metroad 3 is a Metroad in Sydney, New South Wales Australia. It replaced State Route 33 in April 1993, from Metroad 10 in Mona Vale to Metroad 1 in Blakehurst. It has many names as it goes through different suburbs. Some of these are Mona Vale Road, Ryde Road, Lane Cove Road, Concord Road and...

.

History

The original Ryde Bridge was opened on 7 December 1935 by the Premier of New South Wales, Bertram Stevens, accompanied by the Mayor of Ryde.
The original bridge is a lift bridge

Lift bridge

A vertical-lift bridge or lift bridge is a type of movable bridge in which a span rises vertically while remaining parallel with the deck....

 with which was a requirement for Parramatta River shipping, however the lifting mechanism was removed in the mid-20th Century, and it has not been opened since.

The bridge was paid for by the Ryde Council (with the assistance of a grant from the New South Wales Government). The bridge carried a toll for 13 years. At the end of this period the bridge was paid for and the toll was removed. Ownership was transferred to the Department of Main Roads.

An additional bridge was constructed adjacent to the east side of this bridge during the early 1990s to carry southbound traffic, leaving the original bridge for northbound traffic only.

Before the bridge was constructed, the Parramatta River was crossed in this area by a vehicular punt

Cable ferry

A cable ferry is guided and in many cases propelled across a river or other larger body of water by cables connected to both shores. They are also called chain ferries, floating bridges, or punts....

, just downstream of the Meadowbank Railway bridge. The southern ramp still exists near the southern end of the railway bridge, however the northern ramp has been covered over by Meadowbank ferry wharf.

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