Guildford Road Bridge

Statement of Significance

The following statement has been drawn from the Register Entry for Place 14558 Guildford Road Bridge prepared in 2005. Guildford Road Bridge, a working timber and concrete structure, has cultural heritage significance for the following reasons:
• the place is a landmark western entrance statement to the heritage precinct of Guildford that harmonises with the remnant vegetation of the Swan River precinct and the Federation style architecture of nearby buildings;
• the place was constructed in 1937, at a river crossing point used since 1831, to service increased transport loads to the Perth hinterland as population increased, and to maintain access between Guildford and West Guildford (now Bassendean); and,
• the place was designed and supervised by E.W. Godfrey, Transport Engineer for the Main Roads Department from 1928 to 1957 and is a good example of his work.

Physical Description

Guildford Road Bridge is constructed of timber piles and decking with a concrete overlay. The bridge is 140.2 metres in length between earth abutments consisting of 21 bays 6.096 metres in length and a navigation span of 12.192 metres. The principle components of the original bridge still remain, namely the timber piles, stringers and timber decking and the steel beams supporting the decking over the navigation channel. The bridge carries a two lane roadway 7.77 metres wide consisting of asphalt surfacing over a reinforced
concrete decking laid on the original timber decking. The original 12 x 9 inch half caps were replaced with 380 PFC steel channels when the upstream dual use path was added to the bridge in 1994. Under the reinforced concrete vertical walls between the supporting piles, the earth abutments consist of horizontal timbers held by timber piles driven into the ground. The wing walls of the abutment supporting the earthen embankment consist of horizontal timber planks supported by driven timber piles. The original timber abutments have been provided with further support with the installation of reinforced concrete panels attached to the piles.
Each of the pier supports, with the exception of the navigation span, is constructed with five driven 18 inch rounded timber piles. The piles at either side of the navigation channel (Piers 8 and 9) are each constructed from eight driven piles. The piles generally terminate on stiff sand. The 4’ x 6’ wide pedestrian walkway on the southern side of the bridge is constructed with 5” x 2” timber decking spiked to 6” x 4” timber stringers bearing on 9” x 5” timbers at 6’ 8” spacing bearing on the main bridge stringers. For the navigation span, the timber walkway decking is spiked to timber stingers supported by RSJs bolted between steel beam flanges.
The original timber hand-railing has been replaced with steel vehicle safety barriers supported from the deck structure on the roadway side. Timber handrails remain on the outside of the dual use path. Bracing to support the half caps under the walkway was installed when the bridge was widened in 1959 (and the walkway was moved further downstream). The steel beam under the navigation channel was also installed at this time to support the walkway. The 2.5 metre dual use path on the upstream side also has timber decking, a steel vehicle safety barrier on the roadway side and timber hand railing on the outside.

History

Guildford Road Bridge (Main Roads WA 910) spans the Swan River, linking the towns of Guildford to the east and Bassendean to the west. Completed in 1937, this bridge was the third to be constructed in the vicinity after the first two fell into disrepair. In 1827 Captain James Stirling explored the Swan River and concluded that Guildford should be the site of
the third Swan River Settlement after Fremantle and Perth. At that time, Guildford was located at the upper limit of navigation on the Swan River. In 1829, a town plan of Guildford was drawn up showing a street named Bridge Street, in anticipation of the
construction of a bridge between Guildford and West Guildford. In 1831, a ferry service was established across the Swan at West Guildford. A horse ferry was built in 1834 and operated by James Dodd, owner of the adjacent Cleikum Inn. The development of land in the Avon Valley to the east – Toodyay, Northam and York – increased Guildford’s importance as a transportation centre during the 1840s. Two bridges were built in the area – Barker’s Bridge, between Guildford and Caversham to the north of Guildford, and the Helena Bridge over
the Helena River to the South of Guildford – completed in 1854 and 1867 respectively. The ferry service between Guildford and West Guildford was abandoned in 1880.
Residents of West Guildford had no immediate access across the Swan River, and they subsequently contributed subscriptions totalling £350 towards the cost of building a bridge linking West Guildford to the main township in 1874. A bridge on the site of Guildford Road Bridge was eventually completed in 1885/86 at a cost of £600. Following the demolition of the first bridge in 1904, a replacement was constructed in 1905 at a cost of £1770. Throughout the 1920s temporary repairs were undertaken on the bridge in order to alleviate
increasing problems with subsidence. In May 1928, consideration of a replacement bridge was voiced by Executive Engineer Young to Assistant Engineer E.W.C. (‘Ernie’) Godfrey. E.W. Godfrey was appointed Bridge Engineer at the Main Roads Department in 1928, a position he held until 1957. Godfrey was responsible not only for the design of all road
bridges in Western Australia but also for construction of major ones and their ongoing maintenance. Godfrey was an exceptional organiser, which enabled him to build various structures on difficult sites and often under budget. In 1930, the Main Roads Board declared that the existing bridge should be the joint responsibility of the Guildford Municipality and the Bassendean Roads Board, the Main Roads Board refusing to accept any further responsibility for it. During the next three years, lack of funds resulted in continued deterioration in the fabric of the bridge. Finally, in July 1933, a referral was made to the Minister for advice regarding a new bridge. Formal approval was given by the Main Roads Board for the construction of the new bridge in 1935. The new Guildford Road Bridge was of timber construction, consisting of a two-lane roadway 18 feet 8 inches in width, with a footpath of 5 feet in width. The bridge was completed in November 1937. The
superseded second bridge was also destroyed in 1937. In January 1945, bituminous surfacing of the decking of the Guildford Road Bridge was completed. The decking was further gravelled and bituminised in 1951. The bridge was widened in 1959 and it was noted at the time that duplication of the bridge would be needed. In 1978, the gravel and bitumen surface of the Guildford Road Bridge had been removed and replaced with a reinforced concrete deck and 25mm bituminous concrete topping. By this time more than 27,000
vehicles per day were using the route across the bridge, causing congestion. It was resolved to construct a northern by-pass route linking Morley Drive with Morrison Road rather that
duplicate the bridge which locals feared was a threat to the historic atmosphere of Guildford.
Guildford Road Bridge was widened in 1994, in order to create dual use paths either side of the bridge. Concrete decking was replaced in 2000. Traffic levels continued to increase, and in 2001 an allocation of $760,000 allowed maintenance work to be carried out to strengthen and streamline the bridge. As well as prolonging the life of the bridge, the work aimed to maintain the bridge’s historical appearance through the use of recycled timber.

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