West Gate Bridge
West Gate Bridge | |
|---|---|
 The bridge with a river cruise boat passing underneath | |
| Coordinates | 37°49′46″S 144°53′53″E / 37.82944°S 144.89806°E |
| Carried | West Gate Freeway |
| Crossed | Yarra River; Westgate Park |
| Locale | Melbourne, Victoria, Australia |
| Maintained by | VicRoads |
| ID number | WGB |
Preceded by | Bolte Bridge |
Followed by | n/a |
| Characteristics | |
| Design | Cable-stayed Box girder bridge |
| Material | Steel |
| Total length | 2,582.6 m (8,473 ft) |
| Width | 37.3 m (122 ft) (max.) |
| Longest span | 336 m (1,102 ft) |
| 58 m (190 ft) | |
| No. of lanes | 10 (dual-carriageway); (5 inbound, 5 outbound; since 2011) |
| History | |
| Designer | Lower Yarra Crossing Authority (from 1972) |
Contracted lead designer |
|
Engineering design by | Sinclair Knight Merz (2009–2011) |
| Constructed by |
|
| Fabrication by | World Services and Construction (1968–1970; 1972–1978) |
| Built | 1968–1970; 1972–1978 |
| Construction cost |
|
| Opened | 15 November 1978 |
| Rebuilt | 2009–2011 |
| Collapsed | 15 October 1970 (during construction) |
| Statistics | |
| Daily traffic | 205,000 (November 2023) |
| Location | |
Interactive map of West Gate Bridge | |
The West Gate Bridge is a steel, box girder, cable-stayed bridge across the Yarra River, north of its mouth into Port Phillip, and Westgate Park, located in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The bridge carries the West Gate Freeway and links Melbourne's city centre with its western suburbs and Geelong, 80 kilometres (50 mi) to the south-west. Opened in 1978, the bridge has formed part of one of the busiest road corridors in Australia; and carried 203,000 vehicles per day, as of November 2023.
The bridge has a clearance of 58 metres (190 ft) below its main span to allow large cargo ships to access the Port of Melbourne. The total length of the bridge is 2,582.6 metres (8,473 ft), making it the fifth-longest bridge in Australia; the longest being Melbourne's Bolte Bridge at 5 kilometres (3.1 mi). The West Gate Bridge is twice as long as the Sydney Harbour Bridge and is one of the highest road decks in Australia, higher than Sydney Harbour Bridge's 49 metres (161 ft).
On 15 October 1970, dozens of workers were mid-construction on the bridge when it collapsed in what was Australia's deadliest industrial accident. Thirty-five men were killed and the lives of many more workers and their families were abruptly disrupted.