Roseville Bridge

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title: "Roseville Bridge" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["bridges-in-sydney", "bridges-completed-in-1924", "bridges-completed-in-1966", "1966-establishments-in-australia", "box-girder-bridges-in-australia", "concrete-bridges-in-australia", "road-bridges-in-new-south-wales", "roseville,-new-south-wales", "frenchs-forest,-new-south-wales", "1974-disestablishments-in-australia"] topic_path: "technology/web" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roseville_Bridge" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::data[format=table title="Infobox bridge"]

Field	Value
bridge_name	Roseville Bridge
image	Roseville Bridge.jpg
image_size	270
caption	View from Killarney Heights to Roseville
carries	Warringah Road
crosses	Middle Harbour
locale	, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
starts	(south)
ends	(north)
maint	Transport for NSW
design	Box girder
material	Pre-stressed concrete
length	377 m
clearance	17.4 m
cost	1.64 million
open	by Robert Askin, NSW Premier
lanes	6: 3 northbound; 3 southbound
traffic	65,000 (2016)
followed	Spit Bridge
replaces	Old Roseville Bridge (1924–1974)
mapframe	yes
mapframe-zoom	14
coordinates
references
::

| bridge_name = Roseville Bridge | native_name = | native_name_lang = | image = Roseville Bridge.jpg | image_size = 270 | alt = | caption = View from Killarney Heights to Roseville | official_name = | other_name = | carries = Warringah Road
| crosses = Middle Harbour | locale = , Sydney, New South Wales, Australia | starts = (south) | ends = (north) | owner = | maint = Transport for NSW | id = | website = | architect = | designer = | engineering = | design = Box girder | material = Pre-stressed concrete | length = 377 m | width = | height = | mainspan = | spans = | pierswater = | load = | clearance = 17.4 m | below = | life = | builder = | fabricator = | begin = | complete = | cost = 1.64 million | open = by Robert Askin, NSW Premier | inaugurated = | lanes = 6: 3 northbound; 3 southbound | toll = | traffic = 65,000 (2016) | preceded = | followed = Spit Bridge | heritage = | collapsed = | closed = | replaces = Old Roseville Bridge (1924–1974) | mapframe = yes | mapframe-zoom = 14 | mapframe-width = | mapframe-height = | mapframe-marker = | mapframe-marker-color = | mapframe-lat = | mapframe-long = | coordinates = | lat = | long = | references = | extra =

The Roseville Bridge, is a pre-stressed concrete box girder road bridge that carries Warringah Road, part of the A38 across Middle Harbour, located adjacent to the suburb of , in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The bridge is one of two crossings of Middle Harbour, the other being the Spit Bridge.

Current bridge

The suburbs east of Middle Harbour grew rapidly in the years following the opening of the inaugural Roseville Bridge. On 2 April 1966, the Liberal Premier Robin Askin, the local Member for Collaroy, officially opened the new six-lane, high-level bridge, in a ceremony attended by several hundred people, including Pat Morton (Minister for Local Government and Highways), Milton Morris (Minister for Transport), Dick Healey (Member for Wakehurst), Harry Jago (Member for Gordon), and J. A. L. Shaw (Commissioner for Main Roads).

Built at a cost of 1.64 million, the bridge was designed by the Department of Main Roads, with architects Fowell, Mansfield & Maclurcan being design consultants on the project; the primary contractor was John Holland (Constructions) Pty Ltd. The bridge is 377 m long has a clearance of 17.4 m from the water below. However, the adjacent Pipe Bridge has a clearance of only 11 m. This limitation, combined with only 1.5 m depth of water, make it out of reach for most cruising vessels. Along with the bridge, a significant upgrade of the approach roads was completed, which became the six-lane Warringah Road. This upgraded section of road is approximately 2 km long.

Today Roseville Bridge is part of a major thoroughfare from the Pacific Highway at Roseville to the Northern Beaches and suburbs east of Middle Harbour. Due to the halt of the construction of the Warringah Expressway across Middle Harbour to Wakehurst Parkway and the Burnt Bridge Creek Deviation, which is the only part of the Warringah Expressway built on the Northern Beaches by the Labor Wran government, there are today only two other major roads to these areas: Mona Vale Road, and Spit Road which crosses Middle Harbour downstream from Roseville Bridge using the Spit Bridge.

The road carries three lanes of traffic towards Roseville, and three lanes of traffic towards . A grade-separated shared pedestrian footpath and cycleway is located on the western side of the bridge.

On 8 March 2022, torrential rain and inadequate drainage led to the bridge being dubbed the new "Roseville Aqueduct" with images showing floating cars and water fall edge.

Former Roseville Bridge, 1924–1974

| bridge_name = Old Roseville Bridge | native_name = | native_name_lang = | image = | image_size = | alt = | caption = | official_name = | other_name = | carries = | crosses = Middle Harbour | locale = Roseville, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia | owner = | maint = | id = | website = | architect = | designer = R. S. Morris | engineering = | design = Low-level bridge | material = Concrete | length = 240 ft | width = | height = | mainspan = 40 ft | spans = 6 | pierswater = 5 | load = | clearance = | below = | life = | builder = John Howie and Sons | fabricator = | begin = | complete = | cost = A£8548 | open = | inaugurated = | toll = | traffic = | lanes = 2 | preceded = | followed = Roseville Bridge | heritage = | collapsed = 1974 | closed = 1966 | replaces = Ferry | replaced_by = Roseville Bridge (since 1966) | coordinates = | mapframe = no | references = | extra = An original bridge across Middle Harbour at Roseville was built jointly by the Willoughby, Ku-ring-gai and Warringah councils; with fifty percent of the funding provided by the NSW Government. It was built of reinforced concrete by unemployed returned servicemen and opened on 20 September 1924. It was claimed to be the longest bridge of that type in NSW although the bridge across the Hawkesbury River at was longer. It was claimed to be the first bridge supported on reinforced concrete piles. The first bridge replaced an earlier ferry service consisting of rowing boats across the narrowest section of water.

The 1924 bridge survived the opening of the new bridge, and provided pedestrian access only, until it was demolished in 1974, along with Roseville Baths. Almost nothing remains from these structures.

References

References

1. Kass, Terry. (February 2006). "RTA Thematic History: A component of the RTA Heritage and Conservation Register". Government of New South Wales.
2. (2012). "Average Daily Traffic Volumes". Government of New South Wales.
3. (11 April 2016). "Roseville Bridge stands the test of time, celebrating 50 years". North Shore Times.
4. (2 April 1966). "Opening of new Roseville Bridge". Northern Beaches Council.
5. (2 April 1966). "Opening of new Roseville Bridge". Northern Beaches Council.
6. (3 April 1966). "Bridge opened". The Sun-Herald.
7. (6 March 1966). "Easter 'egg' for motorists -- another bridge". The Sun Herald.
8. Morcombe, John. (20 April 2014). "Roseville Bridge the first to link the peninsula with the rest of Sydney". [[Manly Daily]].
9. "Roseville Aqueduct".
10. "Beneath Roseville Bridge".
11. (12 May 2014). "The old Roseville Bridge". [[Powerhouse Museum]].

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